A Funny Thing Called Love
by Lady Lauren
Summary: Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections.SakuraHarem
1. Chapter 1

"You think you're so cool but you're a jerk. And jerks are not cool! And you know what else—your lips are not supposed to be that warm!" Wait. Oh shit. "You bastard! That was my first kiss!" Slap!

* * *

"Oh Sasuke-kun! You're so cool, handsome, strong, smart, and amazing. I just love you so much! Oh won't you please be my boyfriend forever and ever?"

"…"

"Sasuke-kun~?"

"…"

"Oh Sasuke-kuuunn~!"

"Sakura."

"Yes my love?"

"Shut. The Hell. Up."

**Oh shit. Not again.**

_A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 1**—His best friend; my worst enemy

_

* * *

Dear diary,_

_I had that stupid dream…scratch that…NIGHTMARE again. Why does my self-conscious mind keep reminding me of how completely stupid I was? I mean, it's not as if I don't know it. Trust me, I know. Of all the people that I could've fallen for, why did it have to be that bastard? I just don't understand it at all. I'm so stupid! Er…I was anyway. _

_You're a new diary so I guess I have to explain. When I was…thirteen (?) I foolishly confessed my undying love for Uchiha Sasuke. When I was thirteen, he set my paper heart on fire with his ice cold stare (kind of an oxymoron, I know but it's true!) so now, every once in a while, I'll have an hyperbole of a nightmare replaying that scene in my head. It's agonizing and embarrassing for me to have such a horrible past._

_Me, Haruno Sakura, the seventeen year old junior with the infamous bubble gum pink hair and contrasting sage green eyes. And yes, my hair is natural…well the pink part is anyway. I streaked my hair black a couple weeks ago. Well diary, now that I'm explaining things, I might as well tell you that I absolutely hate Uchiha Sasuke for the way he treated me. He, however, is the only guy I detest at the moment. The rest of the male population at Konoha High school is fine with me. And apparently I'm fine with them. But that's a story for a different entry. See ya!_

_Cherry Blossom_

Sakura closed her furry, green diary softly as she opened the drawer to her desk and placed it inside underneath some old teen magazines. She closed the drawer and pushed away from the desk to finish getting ready for school.

Today was her self-proclaimed jean day. The day that she decided to wear jeans, skinny ones at that. It was also wear a really cool screen tee with an equally as cool wristband day. Sakura finished getting dressed, grabbed her bag and headed out of the door of her room.

"Morning mom, I'm off to school now." Sakura called as she grabbed a piece of toast from the toaster and buttered it quickly before going out the door.

"Morning hun! Have a nice day!" her mother called. Sakura bounded down the stairs of her house and made her way to the main street. For about ten years, it had just been her mother and her living in that same old house ever since her father died in a car accident. It was hard at first but, over time they learned to cope and adapt to a different life style.

Of course, that meant her mother having to get another job which was currently a flight attendant at the Konoha International Airport. Most of the time she's away on flights all over the world. Sakura also learned to cope with that.

Soon she was in front of her high school and was about to walk through the door when she was attacked by raging BEARS! Nah, just an overactive blond who loved BEAR hugs!

"Goooooood morning Sakura-chan! (1)" Naruto exclaimed as he glomped her senseless. Sakura laughed and pried the boy off her. Naruto was a blond, as stated in the previous paragraph, who enjoyed being loud and mischievous. His favorite person in the world? Was Sakura.

"Good morning to you too Naruto. Glad to see you're as hyper as ever." He grinned cheekily and hooked his arm with hers as they strolled into school together. Sakura had known Naruto ever since they were small. Unbeknownst to her (somehow) Naruto had the BIGGEST most OBVIOUS crush on her. But she only saw him as her noisy best friend. Her kind, sweet, funny, caring, lovable best friend. As all friends do however, Naruto had flaws. His BIGGEST one?

"Hn. Dobe." Was the Uchiha. Somehow, someway Naruto and Sasuke had become the best of friends.

"Morning Teme!" Naruto said with a grin. Sakura pouted and turned away, refusing to give the Uchiha the time of day. He glanced at her then smirked.

"Sakura." He acknowledged her. She merely huffed and hooked her arm from Naruto's. He gave her an apologetic look as she walked off. Naruto knew exactly what happened between his two best friends. He was there to be the cushion that Sakura unleashed her rage on. Sakura did not cry, no she was angry.

"See you in class Sakura-chan!" he called after her. She sent a wave in acknowledgement and continued on to class. Her first hour was chemistry which was one of her favorite classes, she hated to admit. Sakura was a major book worm who got straight A's all through her years of school. Her class rank was at least in the Top 5.

As usual, when she walked in her teacher was nowhere in sight. Hatake Kakashi was a brilliant teacher who really connected to his students…on every day but Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Any other day he was the number one teacher in the world. Despite all these great qualities he could never be on time for anything. He would probably be late to his own funeral.

"Hey forehead!" she heard a cheery voice. Sakura turned her head towards the back of the class where yet another blonde was waving to her. Yamanaka Ino had also been a friend of Sakura's since they were small. They go way back to the diaper days. They're so close; they have embarrassing nicknames for each other.

"Morning pig!" Sakura responded, taking her usual seat in front of Ino. Sitting beside her was none other than Hyuuga Hinata. Sakura met Hinata in middle school and always found her to be shy and nervous. Once in high school she gained a bit of confidence but she still had that stuttering thing going for her.

"G-good morning S-sakura-chan." Hinata greeted quietly. Sakura nodded and started getting her things out for class.

"Morning Hinata-chan." They had at least a ten minute wait until Kakashi-sensei arrived in class. Most people caught up on sleep, some texted each other, others walked in just minutes before Kakashi did. There was just no telling when the man was going to come in.

"Guess who?" a husky voice teased. Sakura found herself blinded at the moment by big calloused hands. She felt them for a minute before she grinned and tried to pull them off.

"Paws off Kiba." She teased as he released his hold on her and grinned as well. Inuzuka Kiba was his name. Known mostly for his shaggy brown hair and canine like behavior. He was always up to no good. Sakura called him Naruto 2.0 but only to herself.

"Mornin' Sakura-chan! You're looking as hot as ever." Sakura blushed lightly and pushed him away, trying to focus back on her conversation with Ino.

"Do us all a favor and get neutered you mutt." Ino sneered icily. Kiba shot her a nasty glare.

"Maybe if you'd close your legs—"

"Okay! That's enough. Geez you guys you fight every day. Can't you give Hinata-chan and I some peace?" Sakura interjected. Both Ino and Kiba turned away from each other in childish huffs.

There had been tension between Ino and Kiba ever since their relationship went up in flames. Usually they would get back together right after their fight but there was no forgiving in the latest case.

"Sakura-chan's r-right. You all f-fight too much." Hinata added. Then three more people entered the class to sit in their group.

"I know you're not into T.V.'s shows but you gotta watch this one, dude it's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed as he and Sasuke entered with Shikamaru close behind, trying hard not to suppress a yawn.

"Hey Hinata-chan, Ino, Kiba." The blond greeted them with a smile. Hinata blushed, unbeknownst to him. Sakura rolled her eyes then glared at the Uchiha. For a second she thought he had been staring at her but it must've been her imagination.

"Morning Shika." Sakura greeted the ponytail wearing boy. He shot her a lazy grin and took his seat in front of her. To her left was Hinata, right was Naruto. Next to Shikamaru was Kiba and next to Ino was Sasuke.

_Ten minutes later…_

"Sorry I'm late class, you see my cat got stuck in a tree and-"

"LIAR!" the whole class minus Sasuke and Shikamaru said.

"That was probably the lamest excuse yet. He doesn't even have a cat." Sakura whispered to Hinata, who in turn giggled into her hand.

First period went on and on with Kakashi talking about protons, neutrons, and electrons. The majority of it was redundant information that made the class bored. Sakura doodled on her green notebook and hummed to herself lightly. She dropped out of her state of mind at a paper ball bouncing off her head and landing on her desk.

_Do you get any of this?_

Sakura laughed to herself as she gazed over at Naruto's lost expression. She quickly wrote him back and tossed it to his desk. He opened it and grinned at her toothily. She nodded and turned back to the front.

_BRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!_

"This will be on your next test so I hope you memorized that joke." Kakashi called as they exited the room. Naruto sighed as they exited the room. Chemistry wasn't his thing. Sakura came up next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, we're watching a movie in History today." He nodded as they walked on. The only other person who had History with them was Shikamaru and he was likely to fall asleep despite the fact that they had a loud teacher like Anko-sensei.

As expected, History was uneventful until Shikamaru got an eraser chucked at his head for snoring loudly in the back of the class. He grumbled at everyone who laughed at the chalk line that was on his face as well as the marks from his jacket. Sakura brushed him free of any chalk and departed from him as she made her way to the gym for dance.

At this school, girls took dance while the guys did team sports. Now they weren't required to but it was rare to see a girl in team sports and vice versa with a guy. Besides that, Sakura liked dance it was her favorite period of the day. She didn't mind that she was separated from the boys…not as much as some girls anyway.

Her usual attire was a form fitting blue tee with black shorts that hugged her figure nicely. Depending on what they were doing in class she would wear the appropriate shoes. Today was ballet so she slipped on her black shoes and made her way to class. Sakura put her long pink/black hair up in a neat bun as she walked across the gym to her side.

Yeah, they shared half the gym with the guys…excellent, ne?

"Chill out guys, geez…" she whispered lightly albeit trying to ignore all the whistles as she began her stretches, facing them so they wouldn't get the view they wanted. Some groaned, others didn't pay any attention and the rest plotted to get some kind of view.

"Why would they want to look at you anyway?" a voice as annoying as a hyena's laugh called. Sakura grimaced as she slid into the splits, rolling her eyes. Standing beside her with her arms folded and her butt practically hanging out of her spandex shorts was none other than Karin, self proclaimed girlfriend of Uchiha Sasuke.

"They have me to stare at. You on the other hand…ew." Karin glared at the pinkette. Sakura sighed and backward somersaulted out of her split and stood before the girl, who was an odd two and half inches taller.

"Do the world a favor Karin. Go find some duct tape and put it over your mouth." Sakura said with one of the brightest smiles she could muster. Karin blushed an embarrassed red at Sakura's words and the snickers coming from the guy's side. She huffed angrily and marched to the other side of the gym.

**Shannaro! We sure told her!**

_It's sad considering that was the same thing that Sasuke told Naruto yesterday._

"Heads up Sakura!" she heard a masculine yell. Her spidey sense—er reflexes kicked in and she quickly caught the soccer ball that was threatening to come her way. Sakura grinned and kicked it back to the other side, receiving a wave in return. She nodded and returned to her stretches before class began. Their teacher was Kurenai, one of the coolest instructors in the building.

"Morning girls, position one." She called. Everyone (well…almost everyone) loved Kurenai-sensei, especially Hinata who was surprisingly the best in the class. Seeing Hinata dance whether it was ballet, tap, jazz, or free style was amazing.

"Kurenai-sensei," Ino started, bending her knees a little. Kurenai turned her attention to the platinum blonde. "Are we having a recital soon?"

"I mentioned it to Tsunade-sama in the last in-service and she said she'd consider it. She might need a little convincing though." She said, secretly giving Sakura a wink. Sakura swallowed hard, trying to keep focus. Tsunade was like a second mother to her and she always showed favoritism toward her for some reason.

"Relax." Kurenai ordered. All the girls in the class relaxed their stances and took deep breaths. "Okay, break into your groups for the routine we learned last week. If we do have the recital, we'll hold mock tryouts for who will be the leads in the groups." She explained. Sakura walked over to her group, only to be shoulder bumped by Karin.

"Stay out of my way pinky, I'm taking the lead role." She sneered. Sakura rolled her eyes and joined the rest of the group.

**Dumb trick…can I kill her?**

_What? No!_

**Dumb good-natured attitude…**

The rest of class went by smoothly despite a few 'accidental' bumps from Karin. Sakura brushed them off as the girl merely being off her rocker and continued to do her own thing. After class, she joined Ino and Hinata in the locker room to get changed for fourth period.

"So who do you think is getting the lead in your group pig?" Sakura asked. Ino smirked, slipping her shirt back over her head.

"Honestly, I think it's me. I mean the other girls in my group are okay but Kurenai-sensei said my turn was remarkable while Ami falls on her ass every time she tries it." The blonde snickered.

"I'm not even going to ask you Hinata-chan, you're going to get it hands down." Sakura winked. Hinata blushed prettily and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Thanks Sakura-chan. What about your g-group?" Sakura pondered the thought for a second before shrugging.

"I don't really know. I mean I'm pretty good but Karin, as much as I hate to admit it, is too." Ino scoffed at that.

"Karin? Oh please, she's about as gracefully as Choji. And have you seen the size of her thighs? Sakura you're no toothpick, that's for sure but I can hear Karin every time she walks into a room and I don't just mean her mouth." Ino snickered. Sakura shook her head and Hinata frowned.

"That w-wasn't very nice Ino-chan." The dark haired girl sent her a small glare.

"Truth hurts." With that, all three of them left the locker room to their next class.

End of Chapter

**

* * *

A/N:** Hello all! How'd you like this chapter? The idea for this story just kind of came out of nowhere. If you like please review. If you don't, still review and tell me why. If you're reading, at least favorite or put it on alert. Thanks for any future support!

(1) Think if Ichigo's dad from Bleach, the English dub :3


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her

* * *

"Oh Sasuke-kun! I have these tickets to that romantic comedy that just came out. Let's go~!"

"No."

"Sasuke-kun! A new ice cream shop just opened up-"

"No."

"Sasuke-kun! We're partnered for the-"

"No."

"Sasuk-"

"Shut up!"

_A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 2—**Oh No He Didn't

* * *

12…34…18

_Tug _

_Tug _

_Tug_

Nothing.

-sigh-

12…34…18

_Tug_

_Tug_

_Tug_

Still nothing.

-swear-

"Hey Sakura-chan!" the pinkette looked up from her locker with a pout on her face. Naruto laughed and removed her hands from the lock, turning it efficiently.

12…33…18

_Tug_

_Click!_

"There you go! You know, the combination might be 12, 34, 18 but I think you should try 33. It always works when I need to borrow your English book." He shrugged. Sakura grumbled then grabbed her things. It was seventh period, which meant English for her and team sports for Naruto.

"See you in Economics!" she waved him goodbye. She always looked forward to seventh and eighth periods because the teachers were simply hilarious. For English she had an older woman named Kyoshi-sensei and for economics she had another woman named Ryoko. Both of them were the complete opposite of how they looked, especially Ryoko-sensei.

She stepped into her English class and took her seat in the third row, third seat. So far there were three people in the room other than herself. She sat her bag down on the floor and grabbed her English book, notes and a pen. Sakura crossed her legs underneath the desk and waited.

"Attention! Class de Anglais! Haha, how ironic that I'm speaking French in a Japanese English class. So, how's everyone doing today?" Kyoshi had vibrant, curly red hair that Sakura thought was dyed. She was also about five feet tall so that added onto the image of her crazed English teacher.

"Daijoubu, sensei." The class chimed in. The bell had not rung yet but it wasn't like it mattered. Kyoshi let just about anyone walk in, with a bell or not. In her English class was Kiba and a few others who she hadn't seen at all that day including an insomniac who sat behind her.

"Sakura." His deep voice startled her. Still, she turned to him with a shrug and a small smile. The dark circles around his sea-foam green eyes resembled mascara but in all actuality he fought sleep practically every night. He had blood red hair and kanji for 'love' tattooed on the left corner of his forehead.

"Hi Gaara." He gave a small smile to her.

"Hey Saku-Saku!" she did a quick ninety degree turn and came in contact with a shark! Nah, not really. Just a guy who _kind of_ had teeth like a shark. And no…he was not blue. Blue people, pssh! How absurd can you get?

Back to the story!

"Suigetsu? When'd you get back?" she asked the white haired boy. He grinned toothily at her, scratching behind his head slightly.

"This morning at like 2." He said. She cocked a brow and laughed at the yawn he let out.

"I wouldn't have come to school, especially after going all the way to Kiri." She said, resting her head in her palm. He merely laughed and hugged her tightly.

"Demo, I missed my Saku-Saku!" yet another guy who reminded her of Naruto. She hugged him back and with uneasiness.

"Hai, hai Suigetsu-san I uh, missed you too." She laughed nervously. He pulled back with a perplexed expression.

"Demo, Saku-Saku doesn't call me Suigetsu-kun." He made a pouting face at her. Almost the exact same face that Naruto makes at the absence of that oh-so-sought after suffix.

"Che. Quit whining fish-boy." Sakura averted her gaze to Kiba he was standing right behind Suigetsu with his bag slung over his shoulder. He looked incredibly smug standing there like he owned the place.

"Don't lecture me, dog-breath." Suigetsu spat. Kiba growled angrily. Sakura sweat-dropped, ignoring them to talk to Gaara.

"How can you deal with them every day?" he asked, folding his arms under his head.

"I have no idea." Sakura rolled her eyes, looking at the two with a hard glare. She shook her head and sighed.

"Okay! Would all the frequent animal lovers please take a seat?" Kyoshi-sensei called as the bell finally signaled the start of class.

"Hai, sensei!"

The remainder of class went on without…okay so there were a few hitches, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. They were paired in groups and of course both and Kiba and Suigetsu wanted to be paired with Sakura, but she chose Gaara instead since he wasn't being obnoxious. They pouted and life moved on as did class. The bell rang, releasing them to the last hour of the day.

"Oh how I love economics!" Sakura cheered as she punched in her combo once more. Just as she was about to hit the 34, she was bumped out of the way.

"Gomen, Sakura-chan but I had a feeling that you were gonna do it wrong." Naruto grinned sheepishly at her. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to finish. The lock clicked and he tossed his things inside, grabbing their econ books in the process. She gave him a small smile before they both took off down the hall.

"Remind me why we share a locker when you have one." She asked. He scratched behind his head.

"Cause mine is all the way on the top floor and all my classes are close to yours. Come on Sakura-chan! I'm not a bad locker buddy!" he pleaded his case. She gazed at him from the corner of her eye and smiled.

"I know, Naruto. But my lock prefers you. It's not fair that I can never open it when you're not around." She pouted once more.

"Awh, it's okay Sakura-chan! It still loves you." Naruto grinned. Sakura blushed lightly and turned her head away. Naruto laughed and planted a kiss on her left cheek. She jumped at the contact and stared at him in shock.

"N-naruto…!" she exclaimed. He shrugged and opened their classroom door for her. Her blush increased as she took her usual seat at her group table with Tenten, Shikamaru and Shino.

"Hi Sakura, haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?" TenTen asked before the start of class. Sakura shrugged, trying to draw attention from the unwanted warmth that appeared on her cheeks after Naruto's surprising act of affection.

"Oh, around. Haha, anything new Tenten?" the pinkette asked, shooting a smile to the girl across from her. Tenten shrugged, switching her gaze to the window on the other side of class.

"Just trying to survive these next few days of monthly pain." Tenten frowned deeply, letting her head fall to the desk with a thump.

"Geez Tenten. Too much info, kami that's so troublesome." Shikamaru groaned, trying to cover his ears. Sakura laughed and gave him a stiff poke to the nose.

"Awh, is little Shika-kun embarrassed by our girl talk. Hehe, grow up!" She teased him. Shikamaru merely shook his head, his ears still covered. "Be more like Shino, he didn't say anything about what we were talking about."

"Indeed." The bug lover replied. Sakura gazed at him…or her reflection through his super cool sunglasses.

"Good evening class! How is everyone?" Ryoko, a brown eyed, brown haired and rather large woman, walked in the room.

"Daijoubu sensei!" the class chimed. Ryoko sat at her desk with a long sigh.

"That's good. So it's…Monday! You know, I really hate Monday's and I have a ton of papers to grade so…how about a free day? As long as you're quiet and working on something productive." She warned. "Go for it!"

Chairs were moved, people walked across the class and the noise level rose to a higher level. Sakura remained in her seat. For the most part, the class usually ended up flocking to where either her or Naruto were seated…oh and the Uchiha too.

"Damn teme…" she growled, crossing her arms. Naruto came up to her and took a seat on her desktop. She gasped at his appearance then moved to push him off.

"You baka! I don't want your butt on my desk!" she scolded him. He grinned sheepishly and got off the floor moving to scoot her a bit over in her seat so he could sit as well.

"Ne, Sakura-chan. What are you doing after school?" the blond asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder. She shrugged, resting her head in her palm, trying to quell the blush that threatened to appear.

"I'll probably do my homework and catch up on my shows." She said. "Why?"

"Is your mom gonna be home?" this time it was Shikamaru.

"Oh no, last time I told you guys you all ended up coming over and it took me five hours to get all of you to leave. I'm not saying anything." She stubbornly covered her mouth with her hands.

"Awh, come on Sakura-chan! It'll just be us three!" Naruto fought with her. She sent a glare his way.

"Who's the third one? Don't tell me it's Uchiha? Hell no! I don't want him back in my house!" she yelled, quite loudly actually. Naruto covered her mouth with his hand and grinned mischievously at her.

"Sshhh! Sakura-chan, teme's not so bad if you get him a tomato or two." He shrugged removing his hand. Sasuke glared at the blond and the pinkette who were having a conversation about him, completely oblivious to his presence.

"Shut the hell up, dobe." Sasuke growled out. Sakura mentally cringed at his harsh words and glared down at her lap. Naruto sensed her discomfort and pulled her closer to him, resting his chin atop her head.

"Break it up, break it up! No P.D.A." Naruto looked behind him and saw Neji standing there with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Chill Neji, just cause you don't get any action." Naruto snickered, tightening the grip he had on Sakura.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura choked out. She hated when he squeezed too tight.

"What did you say? Dead last?" the Hyuuga smirked. He was glad to get a rise out of the blond.

"You take that back, pretty boy!" Naruto spat.

"Can't. Breathe." Sakura struggled in his grasp. Why in the heck was he so strong? She had absolutely no idea.

"Oi, Naruto you-"

"Stay out of this Nara." Neji interrupted him. He merely glared.

"How many times did you wash your hair this morning, Ne-ji?" Naruto asked, smirking all the way. Neji growled, tightening his hands into fist. "Heh, lather rinse repeat, ne?"

"Slowly. Dying." Her once peachy skin was an odd light blue color and Shikamaru was passed concerned.

"Naruto, look you-"

"Quiet Shikamaru."

"Fuck it, you're choking her baka." Shikamaru finally said, pulling the pinkette out of Naruto's grasp.

"Arig…gatou…Shika…" Sakura breathed out slowly, resting her head in his chest.

"Troublesome." He grinned, rubbing slow circles along her back.

* * *

Sakura was lounging about on her couch later on that evening, sifting through the mail. She was excited to see that her Netflix had arrived today. She had decided to stop by the store right after school to pick up a few things with the money that her mother left her before she left that afternoon for her flight.

She was about to start on her homework when her doorbell rang twice, there were three knocks and a whistle.

Naruto was here.

Sighing, she stood and approached the door, donned in grey sweats and a nice fitting green tee. Her hair was tossed carelessly in a messy ponytail. She took a quick look through the peep hole and took a step back.

"I thought I told you I wasn't going to let him back in here Naruto." She yelled from the other side of the door. She heard him sigh loudly and had to hold back a giggle.

"Please Sakura-chan! I promise he'll be good. At least open the door, it's hot out here." He whined. Sakura complied and swung the door open. Standing before her was Naruto, Uchiha, and Shikamaru. Naruto was the only one who remotely looked like he wanted to be here on her front porch.

"Shikamaru can come in, but if you're bringing him with you, you might as well leave." She sent the Nara a sweet smile and sidestepped so he could enter. Naruto gaped and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He put a thoughtful hand to his chin and began to think.

"What if we send Teme to get snacks?"

"I just came from the store."

"Movies?"

"My Netflix came today."

"Video games?"

"Gamefly."

"I hate when they talk about me like I'm not even here."

"Troublesome."

"Uh, snacks?" Naruto repeated.

"You said that already. The answer is still no." she was about to shut the door when the blond stopped her with his foot. He pouted cutely at her, his blue eyes gleaming brightly. Sakura was taken aback by his expression and bit her lip, looking away.

"Please Sakura-chan?" he said in the most defeated voice he could muster. Sakura whimpered a little, hearing Shikamaru mutter something then laugh.

"Just let 'em in Sakura. Sasuke's harmless…enough." That earned him a glare from the Uchiha.

"Oh…fine! But if he does anything! And I mean anything to tick me off; all three of you are gone! Understand?" she said, her gaze firm. Naruto dropped his act and lunged at the girl, knocking off her feet.

"Yes! You rock Sakura-chan!" he bent over and kissed her on the forehead then got up, hopping on the couch. Sasuke stepped over her fallen body with a smirk on his pale features. She grunted and got on her elbows, surprised when she felt someone behind her lifting her up. She sighed and dusted herself off.

"This is the second time I've had to save you because of that idiot." Shikamaru commented. She blushed prettily and flashed him a quick smile.

"Arigatou Shika." She tilted her head to the side, not knowing how that affected him. Shikamaru swallowed hard and avoiding look at the display of sheer cuteness. Sakura then turned away from the boy and plopped down next to Naruto, warily.

"So…what do you want to do?"

Sakura deadpanned.

"You mean you went through all that trouble and you basically came over here to do nothing?" she cocked a brow.

"Yeah."

"…"

Grin.

"I'm going upstairs to do my homework. Yell if you need something." With that, the pinkette took off towards the steps and walked up, the three boys watching her until she disappeared from their sight. The first to make a sound was Shikamaru who, of course, sighed.

"Sasuke, what the hell did you do to Sakura to make her hate you?" he asked. The Uchiha extended his arms on the couch and shrugged. Naruto frowned at his best friend.

"Well, he basically did to her what he did to every girl in middle school." Naruto started. "Broke her heart."

"Hn." He grunted. Shikamaru sent him a silent glare. "I would hardly call it that, we were only twelve." He shrugged.

"Yeah but she said she loved you. You never forget your first love." Naruto argued.

"He has a point."

"Whatever, she was only attracted to me. It wasn't really love." Sasuke said back. Naruto took in his words and tilted his back on the couch.

"Nonetheless she considered that it was. That's probably why she hates you. You basically tossed her feelings aside." Shikamaru said.

"Why are you defending her? If you ask me I did her a favor by turning her down. What? Would you rather I led her on and lied about liking her back?"

"Another good point." Shikamaru pointed out once more.

"Who cares? You could've handled it a lot better than you did man. She was so hurt when you did that crap." Naruto growled.

"Hn. How would you know?" Sasuke smirked.

"Cause I was there! Sakura-chan may act like it didn't affect her but I know better than anyone else how hurt she was." Naruto suddenly turned very sad. Sasuke stood abruptly from the couch and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked. Sasuke stopped in mid step but continued walking towards the stairs.

"To the bathroom." He replied, walking up them. Naruto and relaxed in his seat. He ran a hand through his bright blond hair and sighed.

"You like her, don't you Naruto?" Shikamaru asked the blond. Naruto whipped his gaze to the left and gaped like a fish out of water.

"I…yeah, actually. I like her a lot. Ever since the day I met her." He was smiling as he said this. "You do too don't you?"

Shikamaru looked surprised by his question but smirked.

"Yeah. It's troublesome but I can't help it."

"I know what you mean." Naruto paused for awhile, looking at the blank TV screen in front of him. "Hey," he started.

"What?"

"You don't think Teme-"

"You bastard! That was my first kiss!" they heard Sakura yell before a loud slap sounded throughout the house. Sakura came bounding down the stairs, completely red in the face, lips slightly swollen. Naruto stood up and approached the pinkette slowly, trying to avoid her rage.

"Naruto! Get him the hell out of my house!" She shouted, referring to the boy walking down the stairs with a bruised cheek.

_Earlier with Sakura and Sasuke…_

Sakura was just starting on her Chemistry when out of her peripheral vision she noticed a figure standing in doorway. The head wasn't blond, nor was in a ponytail, so she never looked up from her current equation.

"The bathroom is two doors down." She said monotonously, refusing to look at him. He smirked and walked in her room.

"I'm not looking for the bathroom." He said. Sakura finally stared at him with an angry glare.

"Well, whatever you're looking for, it's not in here." She said.

"Maybe it is." He shrugged, standing about four feet away from her bed. She glared and stood up to face him, him being at least a head taller than her.

"No, it's not. You're lucky you're in my room let alone my house. What do you want?" she asked, cocking a brow. Sasuke's eyes became lidded as he reached down and grasped her hand in his own.

"You." He whispered in her ear. Sakura immediately pulled away, taking her hand with her.

"Don't give me that crap you prick! Lying bastard, I don't even know why I fell for you. I must've been pretty stupid back then." She yelled, glaring nastily at him. Sasuke continued to smirk, despite the insulting words she was tossing his way.

"You think you're so cool, but you're not! You're nothing but a jerk. And you know what else-" she was suddenly interrupted when he closed the distance between them and kissed her full on the mouth.

'_W…what…the-'_

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her slender waist and held her close to his chest. Instinctively, she placed her hands on his chest and leaned in, not entirely sure of what was going on. His lips worked over hers smoothly while she remained ever still, in that state of shock.

For the sake of breathing he pulled away, that smirk ever present.

"-your lips are not supposed to be that soft and…!" then it registered in her mind what had just happened. Sasuke's smirk grew as did her anger.

'_Oh. Shit.'_

"You…! You bastard! That was my first kiss!" she yelled. Sakura reared her hand back and smacked him hard on the cheek before storming out of her room and down the stairs.

"Naruto! Get him the hell out of my house!" she yelled, red faced. She was angry, embarrassed, and a little turned on but she'd never say that out loud. Sasuke came down the stairs, her hand print tattooed nicely on his cheek.

**

* * *

A/N**: Oh! She slapped him! Sakura slapped Sasuke! I think she had good enough reason to though, don't you? Now let's see, we saw Gaara, Suigetsu, Tenten, Shino, and Neji in this chapter. Nice new character appearances, ne?

My favorite part of this chapter had to be when Naruto was trying to convince Sakura to let Sasuke in. Ha, and I love Netflix and Gamefly. Onto other business, this chapter will start off the poll for who will end up with Sakura. This will be a three-way competition between Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru. You may vote in the review, PM and if I put a poll up on my page you may vote that way also. Please review and or favorite. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"Sasuke-kuuun~! You never pay attention to me!

"Hn."

"What does that mean Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"Does that mean yes?"

"Hn."

"Oh, okay then! Ahem, Sasuke-kun? Will you be my boyfriend?"

"…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

"No."

_

* * *

A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 3—**The game begins

_DEAR MOTHER-FREAKING DIARY!_

_I cannot believe that chicken assed hair having, paleface, no good, smirk wearing, asexual bastard kissed me! I am so furious right now I'm surprised you're not on fire right now. (Sorry for the abuse, don't report me) Who told him he could do that, huh? That was my first freaking kiss! I was saving that for someone special, not someone utterly, repulsively evil! He's EVIL! The bastard!_

_I should've never trusted Naruto and brought him into my house. Oh my gosh he touched me! Oh I need a shower! I need therapy! I need a toothbrush! I need everything right now. I'm losing my mind and it's all the bastard's fault. Then he has the nerve to smirk at me when he's done. Just who in the hell does he think he is? Oh! When I get done with him…I'll kill Naruto for being best friends with him. The bastard! __**I'LL KILL HIM!**_

_Angry Cherry Blossom_

"What the hell, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled at the Uchiha as he paced back and forth in his living room. The blond was frantic, waving his arms around, pulling out his hair, scratching the walls.

"What?" Sasuke answered back, not catching onto his best friend's distress. Shikamaru sat around the room, nodding in and out of sleep.

"Did you really kiss her?" he asked, stopping his current pacing. Sasuke looked up at the blond with a blank face, and then smirk victoriously.

"Hn." He grunted. Naruto glared, obviously furious. Shikamaru cracked an eye open to the catch the action between the two. He wondered why he was here in the first place and not somewhere peaceful, watching the clouds go by. Oh yeah, his best friend moved away a month ago.

'_Where the hell is Chouji when you need him…'_ he sighed and rolled over on his back as the two continued to argue.

"Why'd you do it, man?" Naruto asked. There was a hint of hurt in his tone as he took a seat across from the raven haired boy. Sasuke sighed, turning the TV off momentarily.

"You said she was hurt after I turned her down. I wanted to see if she still had any feelings for me." He shrugged, not caring about what he just did.

"Che. She has some feelings for you, judging by the hand on your cheek." Shikamaru scoffed at him. Sasuke glared and turned away in a huff.

"Hn. Like you could do any better, Nara." That struck a nerve in the lazy genius. He glance over at Sasuke for a moment then at Naruto.

"Please Sasuke. I could do better than you at winning over Sakura-chan." Naruto added with a cocky smile. Sasuke smirked back at the blond.

"Oh really? I'd like to see that." He crossed his arms over his chest and grinning knowingly at the two. "Let's make a wager to see who can get Sakura to date them first. What do you say? You two losers in?" Sasuke challenged.

"I'm in. I'll show you teme, there's no way Sakura-chan would fall for you after the stunt you just pulled." Naruto put his hand in, switching his gaze to Shikamaru.

"I don't know guys. If Sakura finds out-"

"Who's going to tell Sakura? You? Tch." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Troublesome." He muttered but put his hand in anyway. Sasuke smirked, Naruto grinned and Shikamaru frowned, holding back a yawn.

"We each get four whole days with her, starting tomorrow. I'll flip a coin to see who goes first." Sasuke quickly dug in his pocket and pulled at a shiny silver coin. He flipped it with his thumb and caught it quickly before slamming it down his left forearm.

"All right Dobe, head or tails?" he asked. Naruto shuffled nervously.

"Heads…no no no! Tails, I pick tails!" he shouted.

"Che. You got heads Shikamaru." He lifted his hand and…

"It's heads. Shikamaru starts tomorrow. Naruto, you're Wednesday and I'll be last." Sasuke said, slipping the coin back in his pocket.

"Huh? Why are you last?" the blond asked. Sasuke smirked once more, taking his leave from Naruto's house.

"Please, like I need to be first. I'll have Sakura falling for me in no time." With that he was gone.

"Che. Overconfident teme." Naruto growled, heading for the kitchen. Shikamaru returned to his seat and sighed.

"I have a really bad feeling about this."

_The next day…_

Sakura strolled into school the next day wearing a dark pleated green skirt, long sleeved dark top and black ballet flats. Her hair was braided in a neat ponytail hanging nicely over her left shoulder. Today she decided to carry her beige messenger bag with peace signs all over it.

The green eyed teenager strolled up to her locker, remembering punch in 33 instead of 34. She smiled when it opened and silently thanked Naruto and the heavens. Just as she closed her locker door she came in contact with a lounging Nara leaning on the locker next to hers.

"Oh sh-!" she gasped. "Shikamaru, don't sneak up on me like that." She scolded him lightly. He merely laughed and stood up straight.

"Didn't mean to scare you like that, just thought I'd stop by and say good morning." He replied, a small smirk on his face. He extended his arms and hugged her around her shoulders. He gently squeezed, resting his head against hers for a while. He took in her scent of fresh rain and flowers. Sakura always smelled good.

"Hehe, what's gotten into you Shika?" she asked as he pulled back. He mentally grinned at the cute blush that adorned her features.

"Nothing much, just happy to see you." He shrugged.

"You're actually happy? To see a human being? Before noon? Wow, what happened to you last night?" she asked, nudging him in the arm. He merely laughed at her comments. Despite them rarely talking, she knew him all too well.

"I had a dream that I met this beautiful girl and we stared at the clouds together." He confessed. Okay, so that dream didn't really happen of course. For that would be _much_ too convenient for his current situation. So he's improvising a little.

"Really? That must've been some dream to have you waking up this early. But I'm glad though, now we can talk." She beamed. Shikamaru was taken aback by her smile once more and cleared his throat. He checked his watch and grinned.

"Say," he started. "You wanna go up to the roof with me before school starts?" he asked. Sakura's eyes widened before she narrowed them in thought. Shikamaru had never really asked her to do anything except cover for him when he needed sleep in class. Something strange was going on with him.

"Well…okay, sure." She agreed. He nodded and took her hand in his, leading her to the door where the stairs to the roof was. Sakura swallowed the blush that was threatening form on her cheeks once more. She never imagined that Shikamaru would have such soft and warm hands.

'_I guess all that sleep pays off somehow.'_ She shrugged with a smile. Soon they were at the top, the cool breeze still in the air as the sun continued to rise. Sakura's hands immediately flew to her skirt, not wanting to give him an embarrassing view of herself. This caused her hand to slip out of his, much to his chagrin. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking closer to the fenced edge.

"You coming?" he asked, turning around to face her. She jumped slightly and followed after him. Both of them sat down in the middle of the roof, Shikamaru on his bottom, Sakura on her knees. The wind passed again, giving Shika yet another whiff of her tantalizing shampoo.

She was swooning him without even knowing it.

"Look at the clouds Shika." She called from beside him. He leaned back on his elbows and gazed up at the beautiful sky. True to her word there were a number of clouds floating about. He grinned and fell all the way back, resting his head in his hands. He gazed up at Sakura, watching as she brushed strands of her pastel locks behind her ear.

"Sakura." He called. She turned and looked down on him with a thoughtful expression. He gestured for her to lie next to him. Her mouth opened slightly as if to protest but he beat her to the punch. "Relax."

Slowly but surely, Sakura was parallel next him, resting her hands atop her stomach. She sighed, closing her eyes and taking in the cool breeze that passed her. Shikamaru gazed over at her and smiled. He looked down at her hands and swallowed hard. He had made up his mind about today and what he planned on doing to win her over.

At first, he was against the whole bet thing, knowing Sakura would be beyond angry about the three of them betting senselessly on her affection. Then he thought about the positives. If he won, then Sakura would be dating him. Which wasn't all that bad a thought, seeing as he was quite fond of her.

So today was all about letting the message of his feelings get across as subtle as possible.

Gradually, he reached his hand over and grasped hers, intertwining their fingers together. His stomach did flips at her warm hands and his day just got a little bit better. Sakura looked down at their hands as her lips parted slowly. She gazed up at him to see Shikamaru wearing a smile, something that was very rare of him. It made her smile to see him this happy.

"Hey Sakura," he started, twisted his neck to look at her.

"Hmm?" she asked, her green eyes full of curiosity.

"This is exactly like the dream I had." Her eyes widened at his words and this time she actually did blush.

"S-Shikamaru…?" she started. He sighed and sat up, getting on his feet. He reached down and also helped her up from the ground, the smile never leaving his face. Sakura smiled as well, letting him lead her back down the steps to the first floor. Although it was a short time together, she enjoyed watching the clouds with him. She was also surprised by his actions. He seemed more…relaxed than normal. If that were even possible.

Soon they arrived at their first hour and were just hanging out around the door. His hand was still in hers as they stood together as if he were dropping her off from a date.

"That was nice Sakura, we'll have to do it again sometime." He said, rubbing the outside of her hand softly. She blushed and looked down.

"I have to go do something really quick but I'll be back. See you in class." he leaned in quickly and planted a quick peck on her cheek before taking off down the hall. He left the pinkette standing outside of her class holding her reddening cheek, looking like a fish straight out of water.

'_Did he just…just…'_

"Sakura-chan!" she heard a familiar voice call from down the hall. She turned to see Naruto coming her way, waving at her happily. She had told herself she would not speak to him today. But seeing him so happy just destroyed all her plans.

'_It's near impossible to stay mad at him.'_ She merely shook her head and prepared herself for his daily hug. The huge hug that shook her very core.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan." He grinned cutely at her and hugged her tightly. Sakura returned the hug and smiled back.

"Ohayo Naruto." With that, they both walked inside the class together. Unbeknownst to the two of them, two pairs of eyes watched them closely. When they walked in Sakura was knocked down by Ino who wrapped her arms around her best friend tightly.

"Forehead! Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you since last night. You didn't return any of texts so I thought something was wrong." Ino grabbed her by the arms and shook her senseless.

"Ano…gomen pig, my mind was elsewhere last night." Sakura said, making her way out of the blonde's death grip on her. Ino sighed and stepped back as not to startle her friend anymore than she already did.

"Anyway, I have something amazing to tell you!" Ino exclaimed, jumping up and down repeatedly clapping her hands. "My dad bought me a car!" Sakura's jaw flew open and she hugged her friend tightly.

"That's great news Ino! Oh, what kind is it?" the pinkette asked as they took their seats in the back. Hinata remained in the back, talking to a surprisingly calm Kiba.

"It's a dark blue Toyota Camry. I came home yesterday and there it was sitting in the driveway. I was so excited forehead, you were the first person I wanted to tell but I couldn't reach you so…" her voice trailed.

"Oh would you please shut up about that damn car! Geez, you're giving me a headache." Kiba groaned. Sakura frowned and shook her head. Hinata sighed and Naruto tried to hold in his laughter while Ino seethed.

"Why don't you shut up? You always have something to say no matter what!" Ino retaliated. Sakura sighed, Hinata stared out the window. Naruto was turning red from laughing too much. Soon Sasuke strolled in her, looked as impassive as ever. Sakura growled, clenching her fists tightly. He smirked at her when their gazes met. She turned away, still angry. Sasuke sent Naruto a quick look before sitting down.

As usual, Kakashi walked in 19 minutes after the bell rang. About 15 minutes later, Shikamaru walked in carrying a late slip from the office. Sakura smiled seeing him come in and he sent her a silent wink before taking his seat as well. Kakashi continued on with the lesson which was a little more difficult than normal.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? You get this, right?" Naruto leaned over and whispered to her. Sakura nodded, finishing up the last problem that was given for homework.

"You need some help?" she asked. He nodded shamefully.

"Can I come over after school tomorrow?" he asked cautiously. Sakura looked surprised by his question.

"Well, uh…sure. But why not today?" he grinned sheepishly, scratching behind his head.

"I'm kind of busy today so tomorrow works better. By the way, when does your mom come home?" the blond asked.

"She'll be home Thursday at midnight." He nodded and returned to the lesson.

The rest of class went about smoothly. Once the bell rang, Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru took over to History where they had a test review that included the movie that they watched Monday. They were split into groups of three to work on the review. Naruto answered the first page, Sakura and the second and Shikamaru the third. The pinkette was lucky she got any kind of work out of the two of them.

Sakura separated from the two and went to the gym for dance. She quickly changed into her other clothes and made her way the other half of the floor where Karin was talking animatedly to Ami, who was filing her nails and not paying attention.

"And can you believe it? He actually looked at me this time. I could tell it was genuine, I have a way of reading him like a book." She bragged, pushing her glasses up her nose. Sakura rolled her eyes and began her stretches. "Ew, it's the whore." She whispered rather loudly.

"You know Karin, it won't do for your self-esteem if you constantly talk about yourself like that." Sakura replied, not looking up from her current position.

"Excuse me? I was talking about you, slut." Karin glared.

"Oh? I'm the slut? Please, with how short your shorts are I'm not surprised your granny panties aren't sticking out. And just because your bra is 'AAA,' as you claim doesn't change the fact that it's still a 32. Oh, and your tissue is showing." The red head growled and stomped away to the other side of the floor while Sakura grinned victoriously.

**Cha! That was awesome!**

_It was just the truth…but it felt pretty good._

**Hell yeah it did! By the way…is there really such thing as a 32 AAA bra?**

_Sadly there is._

**I see.**

"Ohayo gozaimasu." Kurenai called, walking in front of the class.

"Ohayo sensei!" the girls called.

"After the warm up, we'll get into our groups and start the tryouts. Once everyone is finished, I'll tally up the results and tell you on Thursday. Oh, and if you feel like you don't score well today, you can always come during free period tomorrow."

"Hai, sensei." Sakura started her warm up, ignoring everything around her. She was a moderately good dancer. She never considered herself to be the best though, she always congratulated Hinata in being the dancer in their circle of friends. Kurenai always told her that her movements had a graceful form but they were strong.

"Hmph, there's no use in even warming up. You're going to lose, pinky." Karin smirked. Sakura shrugged.

"We'll see."

**A/N**: I'll end it here. So this chapter had ShikaSakura moments in it. Did you like it? I wanted to keep Shika in character as much as possible. I think he could be a real Casanova if he tried hard enough. So please vote for either Shikamaru, Naruto or Sasuke. The outcome of the story all depends on the votes. Next chapter we'll finish of Shika's day and maybe start with Naruto's. Here are the results from last chapter's votes:

Shikamaru: 1

Naruto: 2

Sasuke: 0

Thanks to everyone who voted! Please continue to do so I'll try to get these chapters out as quickly as possible. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"_Sakura."_

"_H-hai Sasuke-kun?"_

"_Your forehead is so wide and charming…"_

"_H-hai…!"_

"_It makes me want to kiss it."_

"_KYA!"_

"Oi! Get off, you're drooling!"

"E-eh?"

_

* * *

A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 4**—Cloudy Daze

Sakura sighed contently as she walked home from school. For her, today had been a good day. At first she was angry about when happened the night before but she had certain people who made it a little better.

'_Like Shikamaru. Who knew he could be like that?'_

Then the tryouts in dance turned out to be spectacular. She got the part, hands down. Karin did pretty well, as much as she hated to admit it but her leap looked more like a jump and she ended up stumbling and breaking the CD player in the process.

Of course she stormed out of the gym, seething with anger and throwing curses at Sakura. That just secured the pinkette's victory. The rest of her day went on without a hitch which now led her to unlocking the door to her house.

"Tadaima." She called into the empty humble abode. She sighed and tossed all of her school things on the floor before hopping on the couch and flipping through the channels. She had this semi-large house all to herself with no homework to do and no one to keep her company. Sakura sighed once more and smashed her face with one of the decorative throw pillows that littered her couch.

"I'm such a loser!" she said to herself. Just then, as she was about to give in to her severe loneliness, there was an insistent knock on her front door. She shot up, still wearing her skirt and long sleeved top, hair unbraided and hanging loosely over her shoulders while her shoes were scattered across the floor. She didn't bother looking through the peep hole, having a general idea of who it was.

'_But wait…he said he was busy…I wonder.'_ She thought to herself, pulling the door back.

"S-Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" the pinkette asked. Sure enough, the Nara was at her doorstep with his hands stuffed in his pockets, staring up at the sky above.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by." He shrugged with a small smile. Sakura nodded, a grin slowly forming. Then she grimaced, sticking her head out the door and peering outside for a quick spell. She even went as far as to step on her porch and do a quick search before she relaxed.

"Had to make sure Naruto and teme weren't with you. Wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday would we?" she beamed, letting him in and closing the door behind her. He nodded and stood behind the couch. He had this evening planned out to the point where she would let him in…and that was all… "So…did you just stop by to say hello?"

"Actually, this is a real drag but I need the notes I missed from chemistry this morning." He said. Excellent Shikamaru! What a great cover! Come to her house and get notes for school and even go as far as asking her to explain them! …but wait, you're as smart as her if not smarter and she's one of the only few people who know of your excellent IQ. She'll definitely suspect something. Think man! Think!

"The notes? Sure, I just have to dig them out of my bag." She said, bending down to where her bag was thrown. "By the way, why were you late?" she asked.

"Asuma-sensei wanted to talk to me about something. Him and my dad are doing business. It's all so troublesome…interfering with my education." He joked about the last part.

"Oh yeah, because it matters so much to you." Sakura rolled her eyes, handing him a purple notebook that had chemistry written across the top. He smirked and tucked it underneath his arm. Sakura smiled again and made her way to the kitchen.

"I'm kind of hungry, do you want something to eat?" she asked, reaching for the cabinets. He shrugged, taking a seat at the island. She sighed and pulled out two small plates and two cups for tea. Shikamaru was silent as he watched her, taking in her graceful movements. Graceful. He remembered bits and pieces of the latest conversation he had with Ino about their dance class. From what he caught, he found out that Hinata, Ino and Sakura had been picked as the leads for the upcoming recital.

He hadn't seen any of them actually perform. Whenever they had recitals he never bothered going. Dance just wasn't his thing. But now…well maybe he'd take a quick glance. Looking at her now, how she glided across the kitchen floor, taking her long strands of silky pink hair with her was enough to convince anyone that she was flawless in her movements…that is until she slipped. He groaned and tried to hold back a laugh until he heard her giggles from the floor.

"How embarrassing. Promise you won't tell?" she said from the floor below. He nodded and extended a hand to help her up. She raised her hand but winced and grabbed her left elbow and held it tenderly. His eyes widened a fraction at the sign of the red substances leaking from the sudden wound. "Oh great, how clumsy can I be?"

"Where's your first aid kit?" He asked. Sakura pointed to the cabinet right above him. "You're pretty troublesome, you know that?" he remarked as he reached up and grabbed the white box with the big red cross printed over it. She merely giggled and stood up on her own coming up behind him. He opened the box and pulled out alcohol wipes and a large brown band-aid.

"I can take it from here. I am an aspiring medical student after all." She said, taking the items from him. He watched as she cleaned the wound, wincing from the sting of the alcohol then smiling contently as she placed the band-aid over top the cut. "There, all better. Now where was I…"

She busied herself with finishing the sink and presented him with freshly brewed tea and odango. Sakura sat next to him with her own snack and quickly dug in.

"What have you been up to lately?" she asked.

"Nothing much really. Life's been a major drag ever since Chouji moved." He sighed, resting his head in his palm. Sakura sent him a sympathetic look.

"I can only imagine how that must feel. I'd be devastated if Ino or Naruto ever moved away. But hey, you've got us right? I'm pretty sure that I'm not going anywhere soon." She grinned cheekily. Shikamaru looked up from his steaming tea and stared into her pools of green eyes. Had he been any other guy, he probably would've blushed. Sakura was just so pretty…in his opinion anyway. So he did what he normal would; groaned out a quick troublesome and smirked.

The two quickly finished the tea and odango's. Sakura took the plates and cups and dumped them in the sink before turning to her house guest. He was nearly asleep on her kitchen island and it made her giggle.

"Ne, Shikamaru? Do you want to go outside to the patio in the back?" she offered. He obliged and followed her to the screen door. So far, his day with Sakura was not going at all how he planned it and he thought of at last twenty five different scenarios. It was like Sakura was making the moves and he was following. Jump into action then Shika! Geez!

"My mom got the chairs dry cleaned right before she left, so they're clean." She said, reclining back on the chair. He followed suit and folded his arms behind his head. Sakura breathed out a nice breath of air before she closed her eyes.

"It's nice out." He commented. She agreed silently. He gazed over at her and smiled. She looked so peaceful, like she was asleep. The wind tossed and turned, blowing her hair all over her face. He was tempted…oh so very tempted to brush the strands away and hold her soft cheek in his hand.

Maybe this little wager was turning into something more.

Just like earlier today, he took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers together. She jumped at his sudden touch, her eyes fluttering open slightly. Then she smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

'_What is this? Shikamaru has never acted like this around me before…'_

The two stayed out on the patio for the remainder of the evening. They spoke about various things like their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future (ringing any bells here?). It was basic information that they never bothered to ask one another until now. But hey, getting to know one another is like the first step, ne?

"Thanks for the notes Sakura." Shikamaru said as he approached her front door. She merely shook her head and waved him off.

"No big deal. The homework wasn't all that hard either. I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all." She replied. He nodded and looked around awkwardly, scratching his head slightly.

'_Well this is a drag.'_

"I had fun today!" Sakura blurted out. "The whole day. Uhm, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Shika." She smiled at him.

"I had fun too. See you at school." Quickly, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek before waving and taking off down the porch. Sakura blushed and shut the door behind her, sliding down to the floor afterwards. She ran a slow hand through her hair and blew up her bangs with a sigh. She let her hand rest on the cheek that he kissed and she smiled.

* * *

The next morning Sakura woke up with a smile on her face. Not to say that she wakes up every morning with a frown, today was just special (in her opinion anyway). For her Wednesday outfit, she chose a light blue v-neck tee with a gray cami, a pair of gray shorts and canary blue flats. She grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

"Whoa, it's extra cloudy out today." She commented, looking up at the gray sky. It certainly did not look like seven in the morning. She shrugged and made her way to the sidewalk.

She arrived during the next five or ten minutes only to be knocked over by a faceless individual (they do have a face; just not important enough to name =). She grumbled angrily and got on her hands and knees before seeing a hand reaching towards her.

"Daijobu deska?" Naruto asked, concernedly. Sakura graciously took the hand as he helped her up. She quickly dusted herself off and smiled at him.

"Daijobu. Arigatou, Naruto." He nodded and grinned, folded his arms behind his head. "I was just a little shaken, that's all." She waved it off. He nodded until his eyes caught sight of the brown band-aid on her left arm. He grimaced and took her arm in his hand. "Nani?"

"What happened?" he asked, giving her the blue-eyed stare of confusion. She removed her arm from his care and nursed it gently.

"Yesterday when I was fixing a snack, I fell and my elbow hit a loose tile on the floor." She explained. He nodded and rubbed it gently. Sakura blushed lightly and took her arm away again, shoving him slightly.

"Knock it off. It's just a cut, I'm fine." She giggled.

"I know. But Sakura-chan. I don't like it when you get hurt. Besides, you're so clumsy I can't help but worry." Her anger boiled. No matter the good intent he had in his voice, he still insulted her.

"I'll show you clumsy!" she raised her fist at him. He merely laughed and took off down the hall and to the left.

"It's too early for this!" he yelled from ahead of her.

"Easy for you to say!" she yelled back. She chased Naruto all the way around the hall until they ended up at their homeroom class, where they spent their Wednesday's. Sakura gave him a quick pound to the head before stalking off to the class.

"Itai…! That hurt!" he exclaimed to her back. She huffed and plopped down on a beanbag chair in the back of the class. Wednesday's were mostly used for study days. There weren't about two hours shorter than regular days and they didn't have class, just study/free period. Every teenagers dream was to goof off in school, after all…okay…maybe not…but still!

And to top it all off, their homeroom teacher was…not Kakashi! No, it was Kurenai the dance instructor. So yes, their homeroom was in the gym which was pretty cool since they could play sports during free period. Naruto did for the most part while Sakura would perfect her moves with Kurenai.

There were a few nameless (unimportant) people in the class also. Among Sakura and Naruto were Gaara, Neji, a girl named Ayame, and another boy named Sora. And kami forbid we forget about Sasuke! For the most part everyone got along…except for Naruto and Neji…and Sora…and Sakura and Sasuke. Yep! Everyone got along.

"Ohayo!" Kurenai called, walking to her desk against the gym wall.

"Ohayo sensei!" the class called like robots.

"During free period, some of the students from my dance class will be stopping by for extra help. If you wish to exercise or play a sport, please do it on the other side. Otherwise, find something to work on and try not to make too much noise." She advised.

"Also, could someone go ask Asuma for his speakers? My CD player…is busted." The raven haired woman asked. Sakura was barely listening, currently engrossed in a gory yet strangely enchanting romance novel. Naruto shot his hand up in the air as well as the pinkette's free one.

"We'll go sensei!" he volunteered the two of them. Kurenai nodded and allowed them to leave. Naruto hoisted the girl up on her feet, startling her.

"N-Naruto?" she called, surprised at him suddenly dragging her across the gym floor and out the door, into the hall.

"We have to go get speakers from Asuma-sensei. Kurenai said so." He explained. Sakura nodded, dog earring the last page she read. For the most part, no one was in the halls besides a few people who made no difference to the outcome of the plot.

_KNOCK KNOCK_

Naruto rammed his knuckles against the door while Sakura fiddled with an obnoxious lose end on her shirt. While they waited for the door, Naruto turned to his partner and smiled. Even when she wasn't trying, which was practically never, Sakura-chan was so cute, Naruto thought to himself. He blushed lightly and stared at the ground before speaking up.

"Ne, what happened to Kurenai-sensei's CD player?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. Sakura stiffened then covered her mouth with her hand, hunched over in laughter.

"During tryouts yesterday, Karin ran into it and broke it." She laughed out. Naruto was soon too in the same position, fighting the urge to roll on the floor laughing (heh, rofl :3). Before the door opened, they regained their composure and waited. Standing in the frame of the door holding the knob was none other than the source of their previous humor.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun!" Karin nearly screeched, causing the poor blond to cringe. "Ew, it's the whore. What the hell do you want?" she seethed at Sakura. The pinkette merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Karin, please move away from the door and let whoever's outside in please." The voice of the ever calm Asuma called from the inside. She begrudgingly moved and returned to her seat where she picked up a duffle bag and made a beeline to the door.

"Going to another class, I'll be back by lunch." With that, the strange red head was gone. He sighed and address the two visiting students before him.

"Ohayo Naruto, Sakura." He said with a smile.

"Ohayo sensei." They both chimed. Sakura looked behind her and spotted Hinata. She went a quick wave to the girl as well as to Temari who wasn't all that far behind the blunette.

"What can I do for you two?" he asked, kicking his feet up on the desk. Naruto laughed while Sakura sweatdropped at his laid backness.

"Kurenai asked if she could borrow your speakers." Naruto asked. Asuma seemed to agree, rubbing his stubby beard thoughtful before letting his feet rest on the floor. He pulled two large speakers from his desk and handed them to Sakura, but stopped in mid thought.

"What happened to her CD player? I just bought- I mean! She j-just got that one." He played off nervously causing the two to arch a brow and give him a strange stare.

"It got busted in dance yesterday." Sakura explained. He nodded and returned his feet to their elevated position.

"Very well, tell her she can use them for as long as she needs to." With that, the two quickly left that room and returned the gym where several girls were on the dance side, in their workout clothes. Among that bunch was Karin, who looked very unhappy at the moment. Naruto and Sakura strolled over to Kurenai and handed her the speakers to which she nodded to them in gratitude.

They then returned to their previous seats, except Sasuke was closer to Sakura than she remembered. She merely rolled her eyes and sat next to the boy anyway. Naruto sent Sasuke a silent warning to which the Uchiha only smirked.

"Naruto how about we work on chemistry now so when you come over later we can just hang out?" Sakura suggested. Naruto mulled over it for a quick second before he agreed with a broad smile.

"Sounds good to me Sakura-chan!" with that, Sakura dug in her bag for her notes but grimaced once she remembered Shikamaru still had hers.

"Hold on one sec." she said, reaching in her bag for her phone. She sent a quick text the boy asking him to drop off her notebook. He was currently in Gai-sensei's class. Gai was very rule savvy and didn't allow students to text in class like the other teachers did. She hoped he read quickly.

_Shika: trblsm but ok. I'll b there in a sec_

She grinned at the boy beside her who smiled in return. Sakura sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling in mild wonder. She was a bit confused about something but she just couldn't place her finger on it. And Sakura Haruno absolutely hated being confused about anything.

'_Just what is going on?'_

**

* * *

A/N**: I'll stop here. So we continued with ShikaSaku and go some mild NaruSaku and a small smirk from Sasuke. Don't worry all you SasuSaku fans, he'll get his turn and it'll be good. Now let's see…Naruto is secretly up to something, but what is it? There isn't that much of a clue in this chapter so you'll have to find out next time, huh? Vote results!

Shikamaru: 4

Naruto: 4

Sasuke: 1

Please keep reading and voting! Thanks so much!


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"Nothing would make me happier than if I could runaway with my Sasuke-kun and go get married like the crazy lovers we are!"

"Sakura, you're twelve."

"So?"

"You shouldn't even know a word like lover!"

"Well I do! And his name is Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Wait…"

"What?"

"Isn't he twelve too?"

"Yeah."

"You're too young be thinking about things like that!"

"Age ain't nothing but a number."

"Seriously?"

_A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 5**—Getting Caught in the Rain

_

* * *

Dear Diary,_

_Can you believe Shikamaru? I was like…whoa! He's so much different than I thought he was. I never expected him to act that way around anyone, especially not me. And all this time I thought him and Ino had something going on. I guess I was wrong about that. Maybe I'm not the best at pointing out relationships and stuff, but oh well._

_He made me so giddy the whole day. I couldn't stop thinking about the cloud watching or how he held my hand. Surprisingly, his are really soft and warm. Oh man! What is going on? Both he and Naruto have been acting really strange lately. Don't even get me started on teme. I hope whatever's gotten into them gets out soon. Well, not too soon, haha! I'm so bad!_

_Cherry Blossom._

"All right Naruto I guess we could start with balancing equations. When you do it, the number of each elements on each side has to be the same that's why it's called balancing. And you can always tell when the equation is a combustion because the end result will be carbon dioxide and water. Are you getting all this?" She asked, looking over at the blond. His eyes seemed to have a certain glimmer in them as she paused the lesson. This was probably the first time, well ever, that Naruto was actually paying attention.

"Yeah…" he whispered, a little astonished himself.

"Great!" Sakura beamed. "Moving on, here's the joke Kaka-sensei was talking about. So a neutron walks into a bar and orders some sake. Do you know what the bartender says?" she asked. Naruto pondered the question before answering.

"Uh, you've had a little too much to drink?" WRONG!

"No, he says no charge because a neutron doesn't have a charge. Protons have a positive charge, electrons have a negative charge, and neutrons have none. Also we have to know how many electrons are on the outer most shells but just the first three. The first one has two, the second has eight and so does the third. That's all that he said was going to be on the test, but I'd review those flash cards about the periodic table just to be safe."

"What flashcards?" he asked, scratching his head. Sakura sighed, about to explain.

"The ones that we made at the beginning of the school year with the elements, their atomic numbers, and mass on it. Do you remember now?" she asked.

"I think I lost those." Naruto admitted sheepishly. Sakura face palmed and reached for her bag, pulling out NEON flash cards. She handed Naruto the PINK, ORANGE, YELLOW and GREEN cards instead of the standard white ones.

"Here, you can use these. I have an extra set at home." She said. Naruto smiled warmly at the cards in his hands. When she least expected it, Naruto engulfed her in a large hug. Sakura froze in her seat, confused at his sudden act of affection. He squeezed her form, grateful that she was always looking out for him.

"You smell so good Sakura-chan." He said, letting his head rest in the crook of her neck. Naruto took a deep breath and sighed contently all the while Sakura was praying to kami that he couldn't feel the rapid beat of her heart.

"It's a new body wash. Pina colada." She explained. Naruto pulled away and smiled at her. Sakura smiled back, glad that she wasn't blushing.

Class went on without a hitch after that. There were still some girls from other classes who were working with Kurenai on their dance moves. Every now and then, Sakura would be asked to demonstrate something since she earned one of the roles in their (hopefully) upcoming recital. With about five minutes left until lunch, Naruto crawled over to talk to Ayame.

She was very nice girl. Ayame had a part-time job at a ramen shop in downtown Konoha. It was called Ichiraku's and her father owned the shop. Of course, Naruto was the best customer so it made sense for them to talk at school quite often. But this conversation looked a little suspicious like it was meant to be a secret. Sakura pondered the thought as she made her way to lunch.

Oh yes! Konoha High School's cafeteria. You (as in the reader) have never been in here before. Rest assured, it is a sight to behold. It is designed to have venders come to the school and sell their food to the students. There is a ramen booth, odango booth, barbeque booth, rice galore booth, anything you could ever want was in booth form.

"I guess I'll try the special today." Sakura said to herself. Just as she was about to grab a tray, she was pulled away from the line and towards the seats. "Oi! What the heck?" she shouted to the owner of the hand pulling her.

"Mou Sakura-chan, you have to sit down." Naruto ordered, placing her at their usual lunch table. She grunted angrily and gave the blond a glare.

"For what? I'm hungry baka. Lunch is only twenty minutes long on Wednesday." She complained, beginning to stand back up.

"Demo, I wanted to go over these flashcards." He argued, tugging her back down. Naruto had a really suspicious grin on his face that unnerved her for some reason. She narrowed her eyes at him and relaxed her arm in his grip.

"Just what are you up to?" she asked. Naruto began waving his arms around frantically.

"N-nothing! I just wanted to go over these. I have a really good feeling about this test." He admitted. Sakura looked taken aback by what he said. She had never seen him act this way about a test before. Granted, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't a complete moron. Something's he was better at than others. Math and Science weren't his strong points.

"Well, if that's the case I guess I can give up my lunch for you." Sakura shrugged playfully and took the NEON flashcards from him and pulled out the first one. "Okay, Silver. What's its number and mass?'

"…"

"You haven't studied these at all have you?"

"Nope!"

* * *

Sakura was just about to change into more comfortable clothes when a series of knocks and rings sounded throughout her house. She paused, slipping her house shoes on before she made her way to the door. She looked in the peep hole just to make sure it was who she thought it was. That speck of bright blond hair was all she needed.

"Come on in Naruto." She stepped aside so he could enter. He nodded and stepped inside, quite familiar with the place. Naruto made his way to the kitchen where he sat down a plastic bag that had 'thank you' printed on it repeatedly. Sakura followed after him, eyes on the bag.

"What's that?" she asked, leaning on the island. He grinned broadly and pulled out two steaming cups of Ichiraku's famous ramen.

"Food, you skipped lunch to help me study." He handed her the cup that had miso scribbled across the top. Sakura looked surprised then stared up the boy who was busying himself with opening his own cup.

"That was really nice of you, arigatou." She tilted her head to the side. Naruto blushed lightly out of embarrassment.

"Don't mention it. Say, are there any good shows on now?" he asked. Sakura shrugged and grabbed a pair of chopsticks before making her way to the front room, him following. The two of them spent the majority of the evening talking and catching up on the latest news. Naruto finished his noodles before Sakura and fiddled with the box as he watched her eat. She was so proper with how she did it, while he had to have at least one ramen stain on his shirt or it wouldn't be ramen.

"Geez Naruto!" she would scold him. He smiled at the many times she had said that to him.

"Ah!" she finished. "That was delicious. Teuchi is the best." She beamed. Naruto nodded. Suddenly he stood and grabbed her hand, leading her to the door. She yelped in surprise and quickly fell into step with him. He approached the door and grabbed her jacket, placing it around her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asked, about to take the jacket off.

"Let's go to the park." He suggested, opening the door so they could leave.

"Demo, have you seen the weather? It's-"

"C'mon Sakura-chan! People would never learn to have fun if they always depended on the weather. Let's just go!" with that, he tugged her off the porch, after she locked the door of course, and pulled the still surprised pinkette all the way to Konoha's National Park (Heh, KNP). Once there, they rested at the red bridge and just stared out at the water below.

Sakura sighed contently as she stared at her reflection and then Naruto's beside her. She smiled warmly and rested her head on her folded arms as she began to think. Her and Naruto had known each other for about twelve years…ever since they were five. At first she did not like the blond at all (same with Ino). He was always loud and obnoxious. He always got himself (and sometimes her) into trouble.

'_How did we become such good friends?´_ she asked herself, switching her gaze to him once more. He was leaning back against the bridge, letting wind play with his wild locks. She blushed out of the embarrassment of staring at him. She reminiscence about how they first became friends.

_Seven year old Sakura was running around the park with a few other kids. They were engrossed in a very intense game of hide n' seek. At the moment she was running rapidly, trying to find the perfect hiding spot, as not to be found. She searched all the other spots only to find that they had been already taken. So, she went with the last resort; a hollow tree in the forest right behind the park._

_She had hid there three times and so far no one has ever found her. She ran quickly, hopping over the sandbox and across the yard as she approached the tree. It was a big tree too. Sakura approached it, looked around quickly, and stepped one foot inside._

"_Itai!" someone shouted. Sakura pulled her foot back as if it had been on fire. Out of the hole in the tree came a mesh of bright yellow hair. Sakura stepped back cautiously, waiting. "Watch where you step, will ya?" the mesh of hair turned out to be Uzumaki Naruto. Upon realizing that, Sakura frowned and glared at the boy._

"_What are you doing here?" she asked. He looked up and his eyes immediately fell on that head of pink hair._

"_You're Haruno Sakura." He said out loud. Sakura took another step back, surprised._

"_H-how do you know my name?" she asked._

"_Everybody knows Sakura-chan! You're hair sticks out like a sore thumb." He shamelessly admitted. Sakura growled and clenched her fists._

"_S-shut up!" she spat, giving him a quick punch to the shoulder._

"_Itai…!" he grunted in pain._

"_Serves you right." She crossed her arms defiantly at the boy._

"_Ready or not! Here I come!" Sakura gasped and turned to Naruto with fearful green eyes._

"_Hurry, we've got to hide or we'll get caught!" she urged him. Naruto nodded and stepped back into the tree, offering her a hand so she could get in as well. There was just enough space for the both of them to sit inside with their knees up to their chests._

"_Shhh!" Sakura reminded him. He nodded, a serious expression on his face. This was no laughing matter. Hide 'n seek was like modern warfare to these kids. Sakura swallowed her anxiety at the sound of footsteps nearing their area._

"_Huh, I thought I heard someone over here…" the seeker said aloud. He shrugged and ran in the opposite direction. Naruto peeped through the hole to make sure it was safe. He gave a thumbs up to Sakura to which she sighed._

"_Phew! That was close." She said. Naruto nodded. Soon the game ended and they ended up not being found. Naruto climbed out and help Sakura as she exited as well._

"_That was a lot of fun!" He exclaimed. Sakura nodded and laughed._

"_Yeah it was." Silence. Naruto shuffled his feet nervously while Sakura stared up at the extremely cloudy sky._

"_It looks like it's gonna ra-"_

"_Do you wanna be friends?" he blurted out with a strong blush on his foxy cheeks. Sakura looked taken aback by his question and frowned._

"_I-I don't know…" she mumbled. Sakura looked up to see his pleading blue eyes and she melted like butter on a hot day._

"_Sure." He grinned widely and engulfed her in a tight hug._

"_Yatta! I'm Uzumaki Naruto by the way! I'm glad we're friends Sakura-chan!"_

"_Hai, me too Naruto." She smiled as well._

Sakura grinned fondly at the memory as she sighed. That had been one of the best days of her life. Her and Naruto played at the park all day, until it started to rain. They slid up and down the slide, pushed each other on the swings, made a sorry excuse for a sand castle and even tried to count the blades of grass on the ground.

The rain came down and they left with their respective parents but promised to keep in touch. Sakura went home with her mother that day only to find out that her father had been in a fatal car accident. That had also been the worst day of her life. Despite the fact that they had only become friends just hours before, Naruto was there for her.

'_We've been tight ever since.'_ Sakura smiled. Just as she was about to stand up straight, a drop of water landed on her nose. At first it was just a sprinkle, then a light shower. Sakura sighed and sent a playful glare to Naruto who was just now noticing the water falling from the sky.

"Baka, I told you it was going to rain." She scolded him. He grinned sheepishly and laughed.

"Have you ever played in the rain, Sakura-chan?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes. Sakura arched a brow and was soon following him to that oh so familiar park. Just like old times, (or it would've been if they weren't so big) they played. On the slides, the swings, the sandbox, even counting the grass. The light shower became a little heavier as time pressed on. Sakura relaxed herself and let the rain soothe her.

"C'mon!" Naruto urged, pulling her right into the middle. He held her hands at an arm's length as they spun around, despite their bodies getting immensely drenched. In the midst of her turn, Sakura lost her footing and ended up falling on the boy, causing them both to crash to the ground.

"Haha!" she laughed. Naruto grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. They sat like that for awhile, caught in each other's gazes. Sakura breathed deeply before she smiled at him. Naruto grinned as well.

"Ano…" he began, a tad bit nervous. "Would you, uh…consider this a date, Sakura-chan?" he asked. Sakura sat up slightly and considered the question. Naruto had asked her out on multiple dates, to which she always said no.

"Hmm…I don't know. I guess you could it a…a-a-achoo!" she sneezed cutely. Naruto frowned and sat up, taking her with him. She sniffled and wiped her already wet nose.

"I should probably take you home." He suggested. Sakura nodded as they stood. The walk home was silent, other than the rain and their feet sloshing through puddles. They arrived at Sakura's doorstep where she fished out her keys and unlocked the door.

"I had fun today." She admitted.

"Good. I hope you don't get sick." He said, scratching behind his head. Sakura sent him a silent glare.

"If I do, it'll be all your fault." She scolded. He sulked and began his long trudge home. "Naruto?" she called. He stopped and turned back to the girl.

"Hmm?" he answered. She paused then looked up at him with serious expression.

"I…I consider what we did today a really fun date." With that, she waved and disappeared behind the door. Naruto stood stock still for a moment before he broke out in a wide grin. He hopped the remaining steps on her porch.

"Yatta!"

**

* * *

A/N**: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Ah, NaruSaku is very refreshing and a lot of fun to write because they're cute together. I'm not leaning towards any particular pairing, though since it depends on your votes. All right, so next chapter is Sasuke's turn. I wonder what tricks he has up his sleeve. That sly dog…he's so…sly. But yeah, here's last chapter poll results.

Shikamaru: 6

Naruto: 6

Sasuke: 2

Please keep reading and voting. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem

* * *

"Now let's see. My hair is done, my nails have been painted, and I'm wearing all his favorite colors. I'm ready!"

"Sakura, what are you doing?"

"Today is Sasuke-kun's birthday. I have to look extra special for his party."

"Wait! You got invited?"

"Well no but I'm sure he's going to give me the invitation once he sees my outfit."

"Yeah, of course he is."

"Oh shut up! Did you get invited?"

"…"

"I didn't think so."

_A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 6**—Stuck with You

* * *

"Achoo!" a light sneeze erupted from the body of a lone teenager. Sakura reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a tissue and blew her nose profusely before carelessly tossing it over her shoulder. She grumbled and got further under her blankets, closing her eyes in pain.

'_I'm going to kill that idiot.'_ She thought angrily. Sure yesterday was a lot of fun but at the expense of her health. Sakura checked the thermometer once more only to have those three flashing numbers laughing I her face. 101 degrees. What a day to get a fever. She coughed weakly and unplugged her phone from the charger.

She had a lot of messages.

_Ino: 4 head, where the hell r u?_

_Naruto: ur sick aren't u? I'm so sry saku-chan! =(_

_Ino: r u not cmin 2 day?_

_Naruto: I'll b over afta skewl! I promise!_

_Ino: its not like u 2 ditch_

_Naruto: its all my fault. I'm super sry!_

_Ino: how'd naruto get u sick?_

She sighed and placed the device down snuggled deep in the covers. She was unable to breath out of her nose, hear properly, move the majority of her limps or smell. All in all, she was in hell with this (hopefully) 24-hour flu. And it certainly didn't show any signs of letting up.

She slept until about 10:25 when she had the urge to use the bathroom. Once inside, she cringed at her reflection. There were dark circles under her eyes, her complexion was pale, her hair was a messy and her clothes were disheveled. She ignored those facts and used it. Sakura splashed water on her face, but that didn't do much to calm her flaming forehead.

She tried to make it downstairs where she could finally fix herself something to eat, maybe some soup is what she thought. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and reached up high for the soup in the cabinet. Her arms responded by sending sharps pains throughout her body. She cringed and fell back on the balls of her feet.

_Ding Dong_

Confused, Sakura turned towards the door. She approached it, leaning towards the peephole. She looked inside and gasped in shock at who was at the door. She stumbled backwards and frowned.

"Whaddya doin' here?" she asked, her voice hindered by her sickness.

"Just open the door." The stoic voice called. She frowned deeper.

"Why should I?" the person on the other side sighed.

"You're sick aren't you? Just came to help." At that, she gasped again.

'_H-he came…to help? But…'_ feeling utterly confused but strangely calm, Sakura complied and undid the lock before stepping back. It was a bright and sunny day for the most part. She cringed at the brightness of the sun, and let a few coughs come out.

"Hn. You clean up good." The person teased. Sakura clenched her teeth and made a move to shut the door. The person was quick and stopped it with his hand (it's a guy, guess who!). She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I won't asp again Saspke. Whaddya doin' here?" she sneered. He smirked and held up a grocery bag. She eyed him strangely as he stepped inside and dropped it off in the kitchen.

"I don't like repeating myself." He informed her. She sneered and marched up the stairs.

_Earlier at School…_

"I wonder where Sakura-chan is. She's usually here before me." Naruto pondered as he sat down at his seat in chemistry. He was confused. His Sakura-chan (possessive are we?) never ever missed school. He hoped everything was all right.

"Oh no!" he shouted out of the blue.

"W-what is it N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. She, as well as the rest of the class, was surprised by his sudden outburst.

"Sakura-chan's all by herself at home and she's probably really sick! It's all my fault." He exclaimed, gripping the poor Hyuuga by her shoulders. Her face turned beat red and she started whimpering. "What should I do?"

"N-Naruto-kun…!" she gasped, her eye lids feeling that familiar heavy.

"I know! I'll text her and see if she's all right! Thanks Hinata, you're the best." With that, he released the blunette where she conveniently fell into the arms of a sighing Kiba. Naruto whipped his cell out and quickly sent a text to the girl.

_Sakura: u shud b! I feel like crap_

He replied, frowning deeply.

_Sakura: U don't have 2 but its appreciated_

He smiled and replied once more.

_Sakura: quit sayin ur sry…I'll see u at 3_

He sighed and pocketed his phone. At once, he felt extremely guilty and sad. He let his head rest on his desk, completely oblivious to the world around him. Sakura was all alone and she was sick. Of course, this wasn't the first time he had gotten her sick but she had never been by herself. Now she could take care of herself pretty well when her mom was away, but being sick was another story.

"Poor Sakura-chan…" he murmured. Sasuke passed by his desk, arching a brow.

"What's wrong with Sakura?" he asked, pulling Naruto out of his stupor.

"She's at home sick." He admitted.

"How convenient. The day after she's with you, which just so happens to be my day, she's sick." Sasuke glared. Naruto gaped in shock.

"What? You think I planned this? I'd never do anything to hurt Sakura-chan!" he defended himself. Sasuke smirked.

"Fine. Whatever, I'm still going to have my day with her whether you like it or not." With that, Sasuke continued on to his seat, all the while receiving a glare from his best friend. Chemistry passed by like that, when Kakashi finally arrived, that is. Naruto went to History with Shikamaru after that, finding that class was extremely boring without their Cherry Blossom. He entered his third hour, only to see that Sasuke was also gone.

"Just what is that teme planning?" he asked himself. Truth be told, Sasuke left the school using the old doctor's appointment excuse. At first he was going to go shopping (Heh, Sasuke shopping) and get things for his time with Sakura. But his plans changed after he found out she was ill. Instead, he grabbed things like soup, tissues, medicine and a couple girly chick flicks that maybe she'd enjoy (not him, of course).

So he set off to her house, items in tow. And that brings us back to the present time of the story.

Sakura plopped down on her bed with a steady frown on her face. Why so sad, Sakura-chan? Any girl would kill and reincarnate to be in your shoes. The almighty Uchiha Sasuke in in your home, nursing you back to health. Why, it's every girl's dream.

'_But my nightmare.'_

'**You didn't have to let him in. But no! You have to be nice, even to heartbreaking bastard. What the hell is wrong with you?'**

'_We're the same, remember? So there's something wrong with you too.'_

'**You know what I mean!'**

The pinkette sighed and buried her head in her pillow. Upon Sasuke's arrival, she had developed one monster of a headache and it was in full force right now. She clutched it lightly and clenched her eyes shut, trying to ease the pain.

"I hate being sick." She grumbled. Had her hearing been efficient, she would've heard noise coming from the kitchen downstairs. Unbeknownst to her, Sasuke was working diligently (not really) at making sure she felt better. True to his word, he was here to help. Slowly, he gathered up a bowl of classic chicken noodle soup for nutrients, orange juice for vitamin C, and Tylenol cold and flu for the sweet taste of relief. He placed all those items on a tray and carried them up those familiar steps to her room.

Sakura was half asleep when she heard a light tapping on her door. Dazed, she twisted her head to get a good look at the source of the noise. There, standing in her doorway with a tray in his hands and a smirk on his face was Sasuke. Had she been in her right mind, she would've gaped. Since she wasn't, she merely let her head fall on the pillow once more. Sasuke sighed and walked in, placing the tray on her nightstand.

"Sakura, you need to eat something." He ordered, fixing her pillows. She slowly set up, leaning back on the bed post. Sasuke sat the tray in her lap and took a seat on the bed, beside her legs. She eyed the tray with soft eyes before she turned to the Uchiha with a smile.

"Arigatou…" she beamed. He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. Sakura was _definitely _not in her right mind. She ate quietly and slowly, taking hearty sips of the orange juice and savoring the flavor of the soup. When it was all said and done, she took the medicine and laid back down.

"The meds should kick in pretty soon." He said, starting to take the tray back. He was halted when she grabbed his pant leg with a weak pale hand.

"M-matte," she asked, coughing slowly. Had he been any other guy, he would've melted on the spot and responded to any command she had to answer. But Uchiha's do not melt.

"Hn?" he asked. She swallowed and gazed up at him with pleading green eyes.

"Could you stay…until I fall asleep?" his eyes widened a fraction at her question. He nodded slowly and returned to his seat on the bed, watching her.

"You know, I never would've thought you'd do something like this." She started.

"Hn."

"I mean, you always seem so cold that's it's hard to imagine you doing anything nice for anyone." His eyes narrowed at that comment. But he didn't say anything, he let her keep talking.

"Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad you did. I might start to look at you differently now." With that, she turned over and pulled the blankets closer to her form. Sasuke smirked and grabbed the tray once more. "But don't get your hopes up."

"Hn."

* * *

"Sakura-chan…"

"…"

"Sakuurraa…chan…"

"…"

"Sssssakuuuuurrrraaa…chan!"

"Mhmm…?"

"Sakura-chan!"

"NANI?"

"Itai…!"

"W-what? Naruto? Oh, hey. Why are you on the floor?"

"No reason. How ya feelin?" Naruto asked, crouching down to her eye level. She nodded with a small smile. Her face was still slightly flushed but most of the color had returned.

"Better. I'm still a bit sore but overall I'm feeling much better." He nodded with a glad smile.

"Good. I'm really sorry that you got sick so I brought you something." Naruto grinned ear to ear as he dug in his bag for something.

"You get me sick all the time. How is this time any different?" she asked, arching a brow.

"Because I feel really bad about this one. Here," He handed her a white teddy bear holding a red heart that said 'Get Well Soon.'

"Ah, kawaii! Arigatou, but you didn't have to." He shook his head and took a seat on her bed.

"I know, but I wanted to. It's my fault you're like this." His smiled never faded. Sakura growled, clutching the bear tightly in her hand.

"Damn right it's your fault. You never listen to me, even after all this time! I told you it was a bad idea to go outside, but _no_ you just had to go to the park on a day when there was a 99.9% chance of rain." She scolded him.

"Ah, gomen." He sweat dropped. Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched behind his head. Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed, leaning back on the bed post.

"You know, I had the weirdest dream." Sakura called out.

"What was it about?" He asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, I dreamt that Sasuke was here and that he was taking care of me. I mean like bringing me soup, juice, medicine, the works. It was unbelievable." She said completely astonished. Naruto sweat dropped once more.

"Eto, I don't think that was a dream." He smiled cautiously. Sakura arched a brow at him.

"Please Naruto. I would never let Sasuke back into my house after that stunt he pulled. Plus he doesn't know how to take care of anyone but himself." She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Is that so? Then tell me Sakura, are you hungry?" Sasuke suddenly appeared in her doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Sakura gaped then frowned, assessing his question.

"Well no, I guess not-"

"Do you remember getting any medicine? Or perhaps fixing any food?" Silence. "No? Then maybe it wasn't a dream after all." With that, Sakura fumed, clutching her sheets tightly in her small hands. Naruto gulped and shied away from the angry pinkette.

"Naruto." Sasuke gestured for the blond to meet him outside. Naruto complied and followd the Uchiha, giving one last look to Sakura. Once in the hall, he visibly frowned at Sasuke who merely smirked in return. "All right, you gave her the bear and talked to her. It's time for you to go."

"But-"

"Dobe." Sasuke's smirked dropped into a serious frowned. Naruto recoiled angrily and walked back into the Sakura's room, trying to mask his frustration.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," he started with a grin. She looked up from the oh-so-interesting blankets and gave him a blank look.

"Nani?" she answered.

"I can't stay much longer. I'm needed at home." He frowned. Sakura creased her brows but nodded all the same.

"Hai. I'll see you tomorrow then." He gave her a quick grin before planting a long kiss on her forehead.

"Get better, ja!" with that, he was gone in a flash. Sakura raised a hand to her forehead and discovered that it was hot. From the kiss or the fever, she had no clue. Before she had time to ponder it further, Sasuke was in her room sitting on her bed, facing the wall. Sakura glared at the Uchiha, but it softened once she realized all he had done for her.

'_Why in the world would he do something like this?'_

'**Maybe he finally realized how wonderful we are!'**

'_Please. He can't get passed how wonderful other people think he is.'_ Eye-roll. He shifted slightly then turned to her with a blank expression. During her five-year loathe of the Uchiha, she never bothered looking at his face unless it was in utter disgust. Now she could. Her evaluation: Still gorgeous.

'_I hate that he's still good looking.'_

'**Damn sexy bastard.'**

"Why…" she whispered slightly. He raised an eyebrow at the one word question. "Why'd you do it? Do all this for me?" she finally choked out. He switched his gaze from her to her bedroom wall, characteristically silent. Sakura fidgeted and looked down at her sheet covered legs. Was it that weird of a question that he had to ignore her? Granted, he had ignored her before but this was strange to her.

"Dobe said you were sick. I had a doctor's appointment but I came here instead." He shrugged.

"Demo, doshite…-" he surprised her when he suddenly scooted close to her so that their faces were mere inches apart. Sakura's heart jumped in her throat as a headache came out of nowhere. It was pulsating hard inside her skull, making her jump in time with her rapid heartbeat.

"Because…" he whispered huskily. She swallowed hard as he pressed his cheek against hers, placing a gentle kiss on it. His right hand was resting on the left side of her neck, caressing it ever so softly. Her breath hitched tightly in her throat as she searched for a way out for it was only a matter of time (or words…or touches) before she lost it.

He smirked against her flushed skin as he continued placing small kisses on her cheeks, down her neck and onto her collarbone. Never mind the fact that she's sick, Sasuke you bad boy.

"B-because…?" her voice became oddly light and fragile. He stopped his kisses and pulled back to stare at her cherry red face. Sasuke inwardly smirked and rested his head on hers.

"I like you, Sakura." That was it. That was the last straw! Sakura's green eyes widened as the pulsating pain in her head increased her breathing came out in uneven breaths as she stared him straight in the eye. He smirked at her again, letting his hand rest on her hip.

"S-Sasuke…" her brows creased before she closed her eyes slightly. Her body all of the sudden felt very weak. She let herself relax into his touch, fully leaning into him. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her, feeling her hot forehead graze the cool crook of his neck. He stroked her long pink tresses softly, staring at her wall.

"Hn." For him, phase one was complete.

**

* * *

**

A/N: A lot shorter than previous chapters, I know. I'm in the process of switching laptops and its hard for me to adjust to the new ones current size since it's so much bigger than my latest one. Bear with me please! Anywho, oh my! Sasuke made his move. He's such a sly dog isn't he? He used Naruto's mistake and made it his victory (somewhat). Maybe we'll get some votes for little Sasu-chan the daring Casanova! Or maybe not haha! The results!

Shika: 8

Naru: 6

Sasu: 2

Thank you for the votes and reviews! Keep it up please!

P.S.- I apologize for being so late. This chapter has been sitting on my computer for months, I just never posted it because I'm a lazy couch potato who's been focusing on school and work for the past two months. So I'm sorry. Chapter 7 is a quarter of the way done, so that should be out faster than this one. I'm not making any promises though.

Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"My dearest Sasuke-kun, how are you? It's me, your one and only sweetheart. I just wanted to let you know that I love you. Sincerely, Haruno Sakura. There, my letter is all done."

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm? Nani?"

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm writing a letter to Sasuke-kun."

"…Why?"

"Why? So he'll know how I feel, silly."

"So…people write letters to the person they like?"

"Sure they do."

"Hontoni?"

"Hai."

"…Dear Sakura-chan,"

_A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 7**—Mommy's Home

_

* * *

Dear Diary,_

_That idiot Naruto got me sick for the billionth time the other day. But…I had fun with him. For some reason, hanging out with him felt a little different than it normally does. I don't know. He's been acting really weird lately, maybe that's why. Anyway onto more pressing matters. Sasuke was in my house actually taking care of me when I was sick and dying!_

_I know! I couldn't believe it. The almighty Ice King is melting…okay so that's a bit of an overstatement but it's true. He is melting! I don't really remember all the details about what happened since I was in and out of sleep for most of the day but he was there for a good five hours at the least._

_Cherry Blossom_

"Sakura?" Silence.

"Sakura, wake up sweetie." Snort, shuffle.

"Sakura. Come on, you can't be _that_ knocked out." Mumble, incoherent cursing.

"Sakura!"

"Mhmm…kaa-san?" Sakura groggily opened her eyes to be met by the face of her irritated mother. "When'd you get here?"

"Around one o'clock last night." She said, giving her daughter a concerned glance. "Dear, you don't look so well, are you feeling okay?"

"Actually, no. The other day it rained and I stayed out in it too long and woke up sick." She mumbled, in between coughs. Her mother sat down on her bed and stroked Sakura's hair softly.

"Gomen nasai. Do you feel any better?" she asked. Sakura nodded. She was about to tell her mother about how _the_ Uchiha Sasuke was at her house nursing her back to health, but she decided it was best if she didn't know.

"Hai…what time is it?" Her mother checked her watch and sighed.

"It's around 6:45. Did you go to school yesterday?" Sakura shook her head. "Then you should go at least half a day today. Try to get some of the work you missed." With that, her mother stood up from the bed and prepared to leave. "I'll fix you a nice breakfast and hot lunch today."

Sakura ran a hand through her messy hair and stood up from the bed. She made her way to the bathroom where she quickly turned on the shower and grabbed a towel. She let it reach the proper temperature before she hopped inside, clothe-less. She squirted a generous amount of shampoo into her hand and worked it into her hair.

Wash, rinse, lather, blah blah blah.

Once that was done, she turned the shower off and grabbed her towel. She stepped out and approached the foggy mirror. Sakura quickly brushed and dried her hair before she began to brush her teeth. Once her bathroom routine was over, she ventured over to her dresser where she grabbed a nice fitting black tee and gray sweats. For footwear, she chose black flip-flops.

"Gotta do my hair." she sighed to herself and threw her hair up into a messy bun. With that done, she grabbed her tote and made her way downstairs where her mother had just put her lunch back on the island and was finishing up her breakfast.

"Nothing too fancy, just some onigiri and hot green tea to go. Have a nice day at school. Call me if you want me to come get you, I'll be here all day." Sakura nodded and gave her mom a small smile before she made her way towards the door, taking her lunch, tea and onigiri with her.

"Arigatou, ja ne." She called. Sakura opened the door to by met by the sun just revealing itself to her world. She smiled and slowly walked off her porch only to be met by someone she wasn't expecting to see.

"Ohayo."

"O-ohayo Shikamaru." she called, surprised. He merely nodded and smiled. She smiled as well, but soon erupted in a series of coughs. He was immediately at her side, patting her back softly.

"You really are sick." he commented softly.

"I see the news got around quickly." she commented, as she straightened.

"Yeah well, that happens when the two loudest people at school happen to be your best friends." He shrugged with a smirk. Sakura giggled into her hand and started off down the sidewalk.

"So did you come to walk me to school, Shika?" she asked, gazing at him from the corner of her green eyes. He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I guess I did." Sakura continued to gaze at him. She blushed as her mind reverted back to the afternoon they spent together at her house, gazing at the clouds. He seemed so different then that she could hardly believe that he was the same guy walking with her now.

'_What does this mean? Do I…like Shikamaru? But…' _She paused in her thoughts and began to think about what her life would be like if she in fact did have feelings for Shikamaru. _'What would Ino say?'_

"Oi, what's the matter?" he asked. Sakura jumped from her thoughts and regarded him with a startled expression.

"Huh? Oh I was just thinking about something, that's all." She brushed off his question and tried to focus her attention on something else. Shikamaru cocked a brow at her reply but shrugged all the same. He hadn't really planned out his second day with Sakura like he had the first. Mostly because all of his planning was unintentionally thwarted by the girl herself. So he chose to go with the flow this time.

Soon the school was in their sights and they were about to enter until Sakura was knocked over by two blond blurs.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Forehead!"

"Itai!"

"Troublesome."

"Ah! Gomen!"

Once that embarrassing sequence was over Ino and Naruto had picked Sakura up from the ground and dusted off her dirty figure. She waved them off as the four of them strode into the school together. Ino hooked her arm in Sakura's right one and Naruto in her left. Shikamaru just stood off to the side with his arms folded behind his head while silently brooding.

Unbeknownst to him, Ino was staring at him with a silent gaze, her mind blazing a mile a minute.

"Are you feeling better Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as they reached the classroom. She carefully unhooked her arm from his and Ino's and nodded, taking her assigned seat.

"Yah, I'm still sore and have a bit of a stuffy nose but other than that I'm okay." She grinned at him. "That doesn't mean I'm letting you off easy for getting me sick in the first place." She waved a finger at him. Naruto dropped his head to his chest and sulked in his chair.

"You never did tell me how Naruto got you sick." Ino commented.

"The other day, we went to the park and it started to rain. Long story short, I got sick." She nodded in agreement but brought a thoughtful hand up to her chin.

"So, was it like a date or something?" she asked, looking at the both of them for their reaction. Naruto looked up from his seat and stared at the side of her face as he waited for her reply to Ino's question.

"Uh…" he began.

"It was a date." Sakura admitted with a serious expression on her face. Ino's eyes widened in surprise. She moved her head over to the side a little to see Shikamaru shifting uncomfortably in his chair. She narrowed her eyes a bit then dropped the conversation that she was holding with the pinkette.

"G-good morning everyone." Hinata quietly entered the class and smiled at her friends. "Are you feeling better Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, thanks Hinata-chan." Sakura beamed at the girl. The pearl-eyed Hyuuga then turned to Naruto who seemed to be in a dazed state.

"M-morning Naruto-k-kun." She twiddled her fingers together cutely. Naruto snapped out of it and regarded her with a bright smile.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" she blushed beet red and quickly shuffled to her seat. Eventually everyone filed in one by one until the bell rung. But surprisingly, Sasuke never came. Naruto looked over at Sakura who didn't seem to notice the raven-haired boys' absence. About 15 minutes later, Kakashi entered the class where he took roll and deemed Sasuke as being severely tardy or gone for the day. That's when Sakura noticed.

'_So he's not here today?'_

'**Haha! Maybe we got him sick! VICTORY!'**

'_Calm down! Even if it is Sasuke we're talking about, getting people sick is wrong. I kinda…'_

'**Don't.'**

'_I kinda…'_

'**Don't!'**

'_I kinda feel bad.'_

'**NO!'**

* * *

Sakura merely sighed at the reaction her inner had to her silent confession. But other than that, she didn't think anything more of the Uchiha being gone. She decided to focus on the upcoming lesson that Kakashi-sensei was about to teach them and hoped to Kami that it wouldn't be too difficult.

The rest of the day seemed to go by quite smoothly for Sakura aside from the frequent coughing, sneezing, and runny nose she continued to experience. Sakura entered her locker combination for the final time that day and grabbed all her textbooks and notebooks before slipping them inside of her bag and slamming it closed. She had managed to get all of the work she missed and made it through the day without calling her mom to come pick her up.

"What a day," she sighed. Just as she was about to walk out of the main doors, she spotted a certain pineapple headed boy. Her smile widened at the sight of his ever lazy expression as she quickly approached him with every step.

"Shika!" she called out his name. He switched his gaze over to her form and let a smile come across his features.

"How are you?" he asked. They stopped right by the outer school gate to talk. Sakura was leaned back against wall as they conversed.

"Better, I suppose. I'm just ready to go home, you know?" she replied, looking down at her bag as the wind played with the stray locks of her hair. Shikamaru stared silently at the girl standing in front of him as he mused to himself.

'_There's something about her that is just so…warm. So inviting that I can't turn away no matter how much I want to…'_ without realizing it, he took his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, letting it lingering on her cheek. She jumped at the contact and just stared at his blank expression.

"Shika…" she murmured, completely frozen in her tracks. His eyes widened and he retracted his hand as if it were on fire. Small traces of a blush could be seen lingering on his cheeks as he turned away obviously embarrassed by his thoughtless actions.

She smiled secretly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she took off down the sidewalk without another word. He blushed heavily, staring at her retreating figure. He then smirked, holding his tingling cheek.

'_What in the world was that?'_ at this point, Sakura was at odds with herself. For a second, she wondered whether her inner self took over her mind and acted on her own, kissing him like that. She tried to shake the memory from her mind but it remained persistent.

"Tadaima!" she called as she entered her house. Her mother came around the corner from the kitchen and smiled at her daughter as she entered the front room.

"Okaeri, how was school?" she asked. Sakura shrugged, sitting her bag down on the floor before she removed her shoes and plopped down on the couch, blowing up her bangs tiredly. Her mother smiled warmly and stroked her hair softly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Tired, I guess. I didn't miss that much work which is good. But I'm glad that it's the weekend!" she exclaimed. Her mother grinned at her excitement but it was short lived as she started to drop some unfortunate news on her.

"I don't mean to rain on your parade but-"

"I know, I know. You have work and won't be back until Sunday." Sakura smirked. Her mother looked at her with surprised eyes but smiled apologetically.

"It's dreadfully unfair, I know." She sighed and retreated to her bedroom in order to pack her things. Sakura sighed and leaned further into the couch, preparing herself for a well deserved nap until her phone vibrated loudly in her pocket. She checked the LCD screen.

_Incoming call: Shikamaru Nara_

Her heart jumped into her throat as she tried to ignore the increasing heat that suddenly came over her. She pressed the green button and put the device up to her hear.

"Hello?" she answered.

"_Hey Sakura,"_ his familiar voice called from the other line. She smiled at the sound and brought her knees up to her chest.

"Hi Shika, what's up?" she asked, fiddling with the hem of her all black shirt. She heard a muffled sigh and held back a chuckle.

"_Nothing really. I guess I just wanted to talk to you."_ She could practically hear the shrug in his voice. But Sakura blushed all the same at his comment. He _wanted_ to talk to her.

"R-really?" she asked, surprised.

"_Yeah, I mean I…damn this is so troublesome…can we meet somewhere?"_ after muttering a few incoherent words, he came right out and asked her out. Well, not really but who's being technical anyway.

"Oh! Um, ah sure! W-where do you want to go?" she asked, frustrated with herself for stuttering like an idiot.

"_I have a place in mind. There's something I have to tell you."_

* * *

**A/N: **I'll end it here. Sorry it took so long. Well, it's Shikamaru's day once more so let's see what he has in store for our Cherry Blossom. I love your responses about Sasuke's first day. I love making him a handsome devil and a bastard in the same chapter. It does my heart good. Anyway, a few people were swayed by his acts and he has earned himself a few votes. Here are the results from the last chapter!

Shikamaru: 11

Naruto: 7

Sasuke: 4

It doesn't look like Naruto's status has changed much…come on! Where are all the NaruSaku fans at! In other news, KrystalClear101 designed the cover for this story. I'll post the link on my profile page so everyone can see it. It looks beautiful. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review. Criticism is welcomed!

Lauren


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"Sakura, you're just like a lost puppy."

"Eh?"

"Yeah. No matter how many times Sasuke pushes you away, you keep coming back to him."

"O-oh yeah? Well he's just building up my endurance!"

"You're also a stupid puppy."

"What is with you and puppies?"

"They're cute."

"Oh…hey! Don't call me stupid!"

_

* * *

A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 8—**Here comes Trouble

Shikamaru sat quietly on the floor of his room as he maintained his thinking pose. His head was bowed, eyes closed and hands forming something that looked like a circle. This, ladies and gentlemen, was his thinking pose. Ah, he would've relished in the memories of all the cool things he came up with if only his mind wasn't solely wracked on one very important thing.

His dark brows furrowed in frustration as he exhaled deeply, continuing to think. If only this was as easy as shogi, he thought to himself. Yes, shogi was far easier than thinking so intently of ways to convey a simple yet complex message. Just as he was on the brink of discovering nothing, his mother informed him of a guest waiting just inside the front room of the house. He sighed and pried open his eyes, letting a yawn escape for good measure.

He stretched quickly before strolling out of his room, scratching his lower back lazily before he began to think to himself again. Maybe it wouldn't be like how he expected it to be. Maybe he was over thinking and over worrying. Maybe this would be no sweat at all. When he came around the corner he was greeted by the image of Haruno Sakura still clad in the clothes he had seen her in during school. She turned and smiled at him.

And just like that, all his "maybe's" turned into definite "no's."

"It's been awhile since I've been to your house." Sakura commented once he entered the room.

"Yeah, I think the last time was that party that Ino and Chouji planned for me." He visibly scowled at the memory but it turned into a frown at the mention of his long departed best friend. Sakura noticed.

"How is Chouji? Have you talked to him lately?" she asked with a very concerned tone. He sighed and scratched behind his head.

"He's doing all right. I don't know how much longer he'll be able to take that Suna heat though." He chuckled at bit at that. Sakura smiled and sweetly and looked towards the door. He noticed her staring and his heart beat increased. He swallowed inaudibly and approached the door, standing just a few feet in front of her. "You ready to go?"

She nodded and he opened the door for her as they both stepped out into the late afternoon. They resumed the small talk until Shikamaru led them to a hill the overlooked the east part of the city. They climbed it slowly until they reached the top where a lone oak tree stood, as a shade provider. Shikamaru extended a hand to help the girl as they reached a comfortable spot beneath said tree.

"This is where I come to relax." He said as he looked over at the quiet town below. Sakura gazed at him silently before following his gaze and just watching. A slow wind swept passed them obscuring the pinkette's vision momentarily. She sighed and tucked what she could behind her ear. Shikamaru looked at her struggle and grinned.

"What?" she asked curiously. He gestured to his ponytail and smirked at her. She smiled back and shook her head. He shrugged before stretching and falling flat onto the soft grass below. He sighed and rested his arms behind his head. Sakura smiled and mocked his position. They were silent like that, just watching the few stray clouds that littered the still blue sky.

"That one kind of looks like cherry!" Sakura called, pointing straight up. He gazed upwards as well, catching sight of what she considered to be a cherry. He inwardly scoffed, amateur.

"Looks more like a banana to me." He added.

"A banana? How the heck do you see a banana?" she asked, surprised at his answer. He turned to her with a mocking grin to which she pouted.

"I think I know the difference between a cherry and a banana. That's clearly a banana." He stated smartly.

"If you say so. Ok mister professional cloud watcher," he grinned at the nickname. "What's that one right there, then?" her arm was extended more to the right. He switched his gaze over to what she was pointing at and frowned a little.

"Hmm…looks like a rabbit." He replied. Sakura merely shook her head and sighed.

"It seems as if we have conflicting views." She giggled lightly into her hand.

"Possibly." He closed his eyes and just let the sound of the gentle wind and Sakura's even breathing calm him. He welcomed the silence…that is until she spoke up.

"So," she began, almost nervously. "What do you have to tell me?"

His eyes popped open and all of the sudden his heart did this funny thing. It raced. Automatically his brain went into panic mode and his face began to heat up. He swallowed the rising anxiety and turned to face her slowly. Surprisingly, her eyes were closed and her gaze was towards the sky. Sighing, he sat up with his shoulders slightly hunched. He resisted the urge to resume his thinking position.

"What I wanted to tell you was…damn…" he cursed silently. Sakura caught onto his distress, oblivious to exactly what he was struggling with, and she offered assistance.

"If it'll help you, look up at the clouds." She suggested. He paused and considered her advice. He smiled coyly and stared up at the sky. He exhaled deeply before a soft expression fell upon his features.

"This has been on my mind for the past couple days and I feel like it's time to tell you." He stared. Sakura nodded with her eyes closed. She wasn't fully aware of what was going on, but she still took in everything that he was saying. He looked over and smiled at her peaceful form, her hands lying on her stomach. He reached over and placed his larger one over top her smaller ones. Her eyes cracked open at bit at that.

"Sakura," he bit his lip in anxiety. "I like you…at lot." With that, he turned away from her with an insistent blush on his cheeks. Sakura's cracked eyes opened wider until her green orbs were staring wide at the blushing Nara. She sat up slowly but grabbed his hand before he had the chance to retract it. He twitched at her hold but made no move to turn to face her.

"…You…you do?" she asked in an oddly quiet tone, one that unnerved him. He gulped inaudibly and nodded sternly. He felt her grip on his hand tighten and didn't know whether to take that as a good or bad thing. "W-wow Shikamaru, I don't know what to say."

"Look, it's not like it's a big deal. I just felt like you should know something like this. Don't stress over it or-" she interrupted him by giving his arm a gently tug. For the first time since he confessed, he looked her straight in the eyes. Immediately he was caught up in her enchanting jade irises and found himself unable to look away.

"It's not…it's not like that at all. I think I might like you too." She smiled shyly and blushed lightly. His eyes widened at that. He had never thought that she would respond in such a way. He merely nodded and dumbly and decided to lay back on the grass, staring up at the clouds while never releasing her hand.

"You know," he began, finally finding his long lost voice. "I think I see the cherry now."

"Oh really?"

* * *

The two stayed on the hill for a couple more hours until the sun began to set. Not once did Shikamaru ever let go of Sakura's hand. He felt calm in her presence and even better when he was able to keep such simple contact with her. Much to his surprise, she seemed quite content with the situation and showed no signs of being uncomfortable. He smiled at the thought as they came upon her house. He walked her to the door where they stood on the stoop and she dug for her keys with her unoccupied hand.

"Shikamaru…" she muttered as she shyly looked at the ground. "I had a nice time with you today." She said all the while squeezing his hand gently. He returned the gesture and ignored the blush that threaten to spread across his cheeks.

"I did too." He replied. There was an awkward silence between them as Sakura made a move to slip her hand out of his. The mere thought of it didn't sit right with him as she reached to stick the key in the door. He bit his lip and quickly racked his brain for a solution to his current dilemma. "Sakura." He called urgently.

"Hmm?" she turned to him with curiosity dancing across her features. In a way that only the Nara knew how, he cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to plant a sweet kiss on her lips. What seemed like an eternity was only really a second but the sensation he felt never went away. He pulled back and smiled at her. She blinked in surprise and her hand instinctively flew to her mouth.

"I'll see you later." With that, he took off down her porch and onto the main sidewalk that led to his house. Sakura stared at where he once was and touched her still tingling lips. She jumped out of her stupor and fumbled dumbly with her keys before she managed to get the key in the hole. Once inside she slid down the front door and let her bottom hit the floor with a bump. She covered her mouth with both hands and blushed profusely.

'_D-did that r-really just h-h-happen?'_

'_**Hell yeah it did!'**_

'_Oh kami…'_

'_**Shika-kun! He likes us!'**_

'_Oh kami…'_

'_**We might get our first boyfriend finally!'**_

'_Oh kami…'_

'_**Could you say something other than that?'**_

'_Oh my freaking kami…!'_

'…'

Once Sakura pulled herself together, she only had enough energy to climb into bed and stare up at her ceiling, completely skipping dinner. She sighed, blowing up her bangs in the process. She hugged her pillow tightly and grinned brightly. She closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her and she dreamed sweet dreams of her day and how amazing it had been. There was no tossing and turning or nightmares about past 'loves' or anything of the sort. Just pleasant dreams about the future and what it had in store for her.

The next morning however…

"Whoa, forehead are you drooling?" a familiar voice reached her clouded ears. She groaned and turned over in her bed. "Ew you are! Wake up Sakura!"

"Huh?" she gasped as she sat up in her bed, hair disarray and appearance in even worse shape. Standing before her was none other than her blonde best friend, the girl of course. Ino stared down on her with a mischievous grin, hands on her hips. She was dressed in a an off the shoulder long sleeved grey top with light washed skinny jeans and black stilettos.

"Wake up girly, we're going shopping today!" Ino exclaimed as she pulled the covers off the still half asleep pinkette. Sakura flinched and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She glared up at the blonde and sighed.

"This is one of those times when I regret giving you a spare key." Sakura grumbled. She got up slowly from the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom, completely ignoring Ino. She quickly showered and brushed her teeth, coming out in a fluffy white towel.

On her bed laid a perfectly cleaned and pressed outfit with her previous guest nowhere in sight. Sakura eyed the clothes before she smiled and began to get dressed.

Sakura came down the stairs adorned in a long sleeved burgundy top, a white pleated skirt with a brown belt hanging loosely across her hips, thigh-high black socks with knee high brown boots with white buckles. Her still damp hair was thrown over her shoulder carelessly as she entered the main room.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan." Hinata called quietly. She was standing by the couch wearing a striped blue and white cardigan overtop a navy camisole with dark washed skinny jeans and black and white converse.

"Oh you're here too Hinata-chan?" She asked with surprised eyes.

"Don't forget about me!" a familiar voice called from the kitchen. Sakura gazed across the island to see a head of brunette hair bobbing in and out of her refrigerator. She sweatdropped at her friend and made her way into the kitchen.

"Hey Tenten." She greeted her. Tenten grinned back, shutting the fridge door closed with a bottle of water in hand. Surprisingly, Tenten was dressed in her training uniform consisting of a light green jogging suit.

"Do you have practice today?" she asked as she reopened the fridge door to grab a random flavor of yogurt. Tenten nodded with a deadpanned expression.

"Gai-sensei is making us practice to get ready for regional's next month. Even on the weekends." She sighed while opening the bottle. Sakura gave her an apologetic look. She spotted something yellow out of the corner of her eye and found it to be a note written on legal paper.

She picked it up and found it to be a note from her mother. It read:

_Dear Sakura,_

_ I left while you were sleeping last night. You kind of rushed right to bed, is everything all right? There's food in the pantry and money in its usual place. I touch down in Iwa on Saturday at 4:00 in the afternoon. Give me a call if you need anything._

_Love,_

_Mom_

She sighed and laid the note back down the counter. After she finished off the yogurt, she made her way to the main room where everyone was supposedly waiting for her. Ino was gazing at her nails, Tenten was browsing through messages on her phone and Hinata was looking around thoughtfully with her hands clutching the straps to her tote bag.

"So…why are you all in my house?"

**

* * *

A/N: **I'll end here. So, what'd you think? I updated twice in the same month! Go me! Oh, Shikamaru finally made his move! Haha, he'll probably get a lot more votes now. Next chapter we'll hear from Naruto and then Sasuke. So far, Shika is still in the lead but we've got a lot more chapter to go before this thing is over so keep on voting!

Shika: 15

Naru: 7

Sasu: 5

As always, thanks for reading. I'll trying to have the next one out by Valentine's Day or some time close to that.

Lauren


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura thought herself to be a good judge of character until her paper heart was set aflame by a certain Uchiha five years ago. Now's she's just trying to make through school while gaining the attention of three boys who bet on her affections. SakuraHarem.

* * *

"-sigh-"

"What's the matter Forehead?"

"…Is it just me or…"

"Or what?"

"Or is Sasuke-kun…kind of mean?"

"…You noticed that too! I thought I was the only one!"

"Me too! But he's so cool that-"

"You just forget about it."

"Yeah…"

"We're so dumb."

"Yeah…"

_

* * *

A Funny Thing Called Love_

**Chapter 9—**Secrets Don't Make Friends

"Turn around."

Groan.

"Don't slump like that!"

Eye roll.

"Hmm…what do you think, Hinata-chan?"

"It's a nice color…"

Twitch.

"Meh. Take it off!"

"That's it! This is the last dress you're putting me in pig!" Sakura fumed as she threw her hands up in frustration. Ino merely scoffed and stood up from the fitting room seat she and Hinata were situated in as they watched Sakura 'model' dresses for them. Sakura stormed back into the room and slammed the door shut, quickly wrenching the dress off her slender form before facing her two so-called friends.

"Explain to me exactly what the point of that was?" she asked with a deadpanned expression. Ino smiled sweetly at the girl and placed a gentle yet heavy hand on her shoulder. Sakura cringed and gazed at her warily.

"It's girl time. Come on, we haven't hung out in a while. We're making memories here!" she cheered. Hinata nodded quietly from behind the blond. Sakura sighed and grinned.

"Fine, where to next?" she asked with her arms crossed over her chest. Ino placed a thoughtful finger to her chin before she snapped her fingers, a new glint in her eyes.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's!" she exclaimed. Sakura eyed her strangely while Hinata blushed noticeably and started fidgeting nervously. "Maybe you-know-who will be there." Ino wiggled her nicely arched eyebrows suggestively, which only caused the Hyuuga to blush even more.

So the three girls took off for the ramen stand right in the center of the city. They conversed lightly about various things. Sakura dared not mention her little excursion with Shikamaru yesterday for fear of…well, Ino. But she hated keeping secrets from her friends, just as she hated those keeping secrets from her. It went both ways.

Once they were within three meters of the establishment, they could already hear the obnoxious noise called the voice of Uzumaki Naruto. Sakura shook her head, Ino face-palmed, and Hinata smiled. They entered quietly and strolled up behind the blond who was seating at the counter.

"Lay another bowl on me old man! I could go all day!" he shouted as he slid the empty ramen bowl across the countertop to Teuchi who merely smiled and prepared yet another bowl of his infamous ramen.

"Oi Naruto, save some for everybody else." Sakura finally spoke up as she sat on his left. His face visibly brightened at her appearance.

"Aw but you know how much I love ramen Sakura-chan!" he beamed, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Teuchi then appeared with Naruto's bowl and sat it before him. "Ji-chan, get her a miso on me!"

"Naruto! I can pay for myself, you know!" Sakura protested from beside him.

"Come on Sakura-chan! You never let me treat you to ramen!" he pleaded with his hands in a praying position. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine, but if you're paying for me you have to pay for Hinata-chan and the pig." She pointed out for two companions who had already seated themselves on the other side of Naruto.

"Huh? Oh! Hey Hinata-chan! Hey Ino!" he greeted them cheerfully. Then his brain comprehended what Sakura had suggested. "D-demo, I don't have enough money for that Sakura-chan…" he complained, opening his frog wallet.

"Well, I guess you shouldn't eat as much then." She replied with a stern expression. Naruto's head fell to his shoulders. She smiled at his downtrodden expression. "Why don't you treat Hinata-chan?" she suggested. His head raised slightly at the question and he frowned.

"I want to treat you…Sakura-chan…" he whispered softly so only she could hear. Her eyes widened at that, but she pretended not to hear. Hinata, on the other hand, heard perfectly and smiled beside herself and despite the situation. A blind man could see how much Naruto cared about Sakura.

'_As much as I care about him, but you're the only one who can't see that. Ne, Naruto-kun?'_ Ino watched from beside Hinata at her suddenly depressed expression and her anger flared up a bit. She slammed her hands down on the table, gaining the attention of her three friends. Her expression didn't give any hint to her foul mood or her foul intent. She smiled sweetly at them before she opened her mouth.

"You know what guys?" she asked. They waited silently for her to answer her own question. She looked straight ahead with determination dancing in her cobalt eyes. "I like Shikamaru." She said, her resolve firm. After, she sat down with a satisfied smile. Hinata's opaque eyes were wide as well as Naruto's. But it was Sakura's expression that she was anticipating.

Pure anxiety.

"Where'd that come from Ino?" Naruto asked with a perplexed expression. She shrugged and ordered her food.

"Don't know. It's been on my mind for a couple of days and I guess I finally realized it just now." She rested her head in her palm and smiled triumphantly.

"G-good luck Ino-chan." Hinata smiled sweetly. Naruto grinned toothily and gave her a thumbs up. Sakura, on the other hand, just stared at the table top completely immobile. Ino looked at her knowingly before she spoke up.

"What about you, forehead?" she asked. Sakura dropped out of her reverie and looked up with shocked bright green eyes. Her face fell at her question before she gave a forced smile.

"Go for it pig!" she replied. The normal atmosphere returned after their food was brought to them. Naruto made quick work of his while Hinata and Ino ate quietly. Sakura just stared at her food, her appetite suddenly gone.

'**What the hell was that? Why'd you say that to her?'**

'_Ino likes Shikamaru…'_

'**Yeah, and so do we! Right?'**

'_I…I think so but…'_

'**But what? There's nothing to discuss here!'**

'_If Ino likes him then we can't-'_

'**Can't what? Can't like him too? Ugh! You're so selfless!'**

Lost in her own argument, Sakura failed to notice that her companions had long since left her with the rambunctious blond who seemed oddly silent. Unbeknownst to her, Naruto was having a mental battle with himself. He was well aware of Shikamaru's attempts at the pinkette's affections and her strange silence was unnerving him.

Could the Nara have really progressed so far ahead of him in just two days to have her dead silent at the mention of her best friend liking said Nara? Could she really be so shaken up by such a realization that the world around her became less important? Suddenly she raised her head to see the steam from her bowl long since gone along with Ino and Hinata.

"Sakura-chan?" he called from beside her with worry etched across his foxy features. She blinked at him then snapped out of her daze and tried to smile. He could tell it was forced, just like when she wished Ino good luck. Sakura hardly ever talked about her feelings but she always wore them right on her sleeves for the whole world to see.

This time was no exception.

"So Naruto," she began. "What do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Sakura slurped up some of the warm flavored noodle and savored its taste. He watched her fondly as she ate and considered his options. He hadn't intended on meeting her at his preferred eatery. In fact, he was about to go to her house as soon as he finished his last bowl. But then she showed up and…well…here they were.

"Eh not much. What about you?" he replied. She shrugged and sighed.

"Ino and Hinata had just showed up at my house and wanted to go shopping. I didn't really have anything planned at all." She explained. At the moment, she wasn't as concerned with where Ino and Hinata had gone and why they had left in the first place. The only thing that was on her mind was Ino's confession and how to deal with it. "Hey…"

"Hm?" he responded with a curious look in his azure eyes.

"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" she offered.

* * *

"At this point, I don't really care how cliché it is that I love strawberry flavored ice cream." Sakura defended herself as the two walked around town with their favorite flavored ice cream sitting atop a freshly made waffle cone. "I thought you knew better Naruto."

"It's funny though. Your hair is pink, the ice cream is pink. Who would've guessed?" he carried on, licking on his chocolate scoops. She rolled her eyes and smiled. Her mood significantly brightened up when talking to the blonde. To her, when they were growing up Naruto was always stamped as the annoying kid that no one wanted to be around. But over time he grew into the boy that attracted people like the sun. Yes, Naruto was like the sun.

'_Always warm and inviting…'_ she mused to herself. Naruto ran ahead of her and turned around with a grin plastered on his face.

"Come on Sakura-chan, let's go to my house." He offered. Sakura licked on her ice cream thoughtfully, gazing up at the sky. Clouds were scattered here and there. Her thoughts immediately went to Shikamaru which then turned to thoughts about his confession yesterday. Her face reddened considerably as she went back to staring at Naruto's surprising expression.

His facial features were softly and went perfect with his gentle smile. The look in his eyes was a warm and inviting one that she saw quite often. But this time was different. Lying beneath the surface of that calm blue was an endearing quality that one would see in a committed fan of a famous person. Someone who held deep respect, or daresay, love for that person.

'_Naruto…a-and love…?' _She looked down, momentarily forgetting the slowly melting treat in her hand as the blond walked back to where she was frozen in her stance. Her brows furrowed in frustration while her mind began to sort out the mess in her brain she had created for herself throughout the day. She was only pulled out of her brooding by an odd pressure she felt coming from her cone.

The boy took a few quick licks from said cone and was licking his lips hungrily, his already half eaten. Her eyes widened in shock at his actions as they darted back and forth between him and her violated dessert.

"Naruto baka! What'd you do that for?" she demanded, approaching him dangerously with her other fist poised to attack. He grinned sheepishly with a light blush on his cheeks.

"It was melting! What was I supposed to do?" he asked, not understanding why she was so mad. She bit her lip in frustration and stamped her foot on the pavement.

"You leave it be! T-that was an indirect kiss you idiot!" she shouted again. She huffed and gazed at it as it was indeed melting and at a quicker pace than she wished it to. She licked it a few good times before sending him a glare. He merely smiled and grasped her hand, leading her down the sidewalk.

"The more the merrier, ne?" he asked, stealing another taste. She resisted the urge to smack him once more but her actions were cancelled out by her thoughts. Her eyes travelled down to their intertwined hands and for the first time in a long time, Sakura Haruno blushed from the touch of her best friend.

'_C-could it be that Naruto…' _her pink blush turned fuchsia at the thought. She looked down as they trudged on down the familiar path to his humble abode. She considered the possibility and found it to be very likely that her assumptions were correct.

But what the real question is, what would she do if they were indeed true.

'_What if Naruto really __**does**__ love me?'_

**

* * *

A/N:** It is significantly shorter than the previous chapters, I'm well aware of that. This is where the conflict kicks in as Ino admits to liking Shikamaru right after he confessed that he likes Sakura. Then Naruto comes in with his subtle and dense self only to bring more confession. Next chapter we'll get to hear from the Uchiha after his two chapter absence and see what he's up to. Here are the results from last time!

Shikamaru: 18

Naruto: 8

Sasuke: 5

Also, I got a really interesting suggestion in a review from _yoyoyo_. Said reviewer suggested that I do an alternate ending where Sakura ends up with all three. If the plot unfolds in that direction (I'm not saying anything about the plot) then that would be perfect! So, please tell me what you think of the prospect of having alternate endings. As always, thank you for reading.

Lauren.


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